Aberdeen Group plc Purchases Shares of 2,138,603 Precision BioSciences, Inc. $DTIL

Aberdeen Group plc purchased a new stake in shares of Precision BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:DTIL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,138,603 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,897,000. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 16.13% of Precision BioSciences at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DTIL. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Precision BioSciences by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 77,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 4,025 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Precision BioSciences during the 2nd quarter valued at about $260,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Precision BioSciences during the 2nd quarter valued at about $425,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC purchased a new position in Precision BioSciences during the 3rd quarter valued at about $72,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Precision BioSciences by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 492,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,719,000 after acquiring an additional 87,242 shares during the period. 37.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on DTIL. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Precision BioSciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Precision BioSciences in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Precision BioSciences in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.50.

Insider Activity at Precision BioSciences

In other news, CFO John Alexander Kelly sold 8,149 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.84, for a total transaction of $31,292.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 125,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $483,390.72. This represents a 6.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider J. Jefferson Smith sold 10,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.03, for a total value of $41,106.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 110,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $444,041.52. This represents a 8.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 93,845 shares of company stock valued at $376,677 over the last 90 days. 4.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Precision BioSciences Stock Up 4.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:DTIL opened at $6.26 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $4.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.15. The stock has a market cap of $161.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.22 and a beta of 1.09. Precision BioSciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3.53 and a fifty-two week high of $8.82. The company has a quick ratio of 13.32, a current ratio of 13.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Precision BioSciences Company Profile

Precision BioSciences is a clinical‐stage genome editing company that leverages its proprietary ARCUS platform to develop targeted gene therapies. ARCUS, an engineered nuclease derived from a naturally occurring enzyme, enables precise DNA modifications for both in vivo and ex vivo applications. The company’s pipeline spans genetic diseases—including rare monogenic disorders—and immuno‐oncology, where it is advancing allogeneic cell therapy candidates designed to address hematologic malignancies and solid tumors.

Founded in 2006 as a spin‐out from research at the University of North Carolina, Precision BioSciences is headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, with additional research and manufacturing capabilities located in the Research Triangle Park area.