Precision BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:DTIL) Short Interest Down 16.1% in March

Precision BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:DTIL) was the target of a large decline in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 618,300 shares, a decline of 16.1% from the February 28th total of 736,600 shares. Approximately 17.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 478,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Precision BioSciences Price Performance

DTIL traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $4.77. The stock had a trading volume of 11,599 shares, compared to its average volume of 171,467. The company has a market cap of $36.55 million, a P/E ratio of 79.46 and a beta of 1.59. Precision BioSciences has a 1 year low of $3.61 and a 1 year high of $15.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 9.22 and a current ratio of 9.22. The business has a fifty day moving average of $5.11 and a 200 day moving average of $6.46.

Precision BioSciences (NASDAQ:DTIL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The company reported ($3.20) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($2.09) by ($1.11). Precision BioSciences had a net margin of 11.48% and a negative return on equity of 23.69%. The company had revenue of $3.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Precision BioSciences will post -1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Precision BioSciences

In related news, insider J. Jefferson Smith sold 10,287 shares of Precision BioSciences stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.79, for a total transaction of $49,274.73. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 87,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $418,837.60. This trade represents a 10.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael Amoroso sold 36,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.67, for a total value of $172,033.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 107,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $500,096.29. This trade represents a 25.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 48,243 shares of company stock worth $227,424. 4.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Precision BioSciences by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 15,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 2,805 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Precision BioSciences during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC bought a new stake in Precision BioSciences in the fourth quarter worth $59,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Precision BioSciences during the fourth quarter worth $67,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Precision BioSciences by 40.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 65,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $591,000 after purchasing an additional 19,088 shares during the period. 37.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on DTIL. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Precision BioSciences in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Precision BioSciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th.

About Precision BioSciences

Precision BioSciences, Inc, an advanced gene editing company, develops in vivo gene editing therapies for gene edits, including gene elimination, insertion, and excision in the United States. The company offers ARCUS, a genome editing platform to DNA genome insertion, deletion, and repair. It also provides PBGENE-HBV for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) to eliminate covalently closed circular DNA with direct cuts and edits as well as to inactivate integrated HBV DNA with the goal of long-lasting reductions in hepatitis B surface antigen; PBGENE-PMM for the treatment of m.3243 associated primary mitochondrial myopathy (PMM) which is expected to submit an IND and/or CTA.