Precigen, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGEN) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 15% in the last week.    But only the myopic could ignore the astounding decline over three years.  In that time the share price has melted like a snowball in the desert, down 78%.  So we're relieved for long term holders to see a bit of uplift.  But the more important question is whether the underlying business can justify a higher price still.    

The recent uptick of 15% could be a positive sign of things to come, so let's take a look at historical fundamentals.  

Precigen wasn't profitable in the last twelve months, it is unlikely we'll see a strong correlation between its share price and its earnings per share (EPS). Arguably revenue is our next best option.  When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally hope to see good revenue growth.  Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one would hope for good top-line growth to make up for the lack of earnings.  

Over the last three years, Precigen's revenue dropped 61% per year.   That means its revenue trend is very weak compared to other loss making companies.   The swift share price decline at an annual compound rate of 21%, reflects this weak fundamental performance.  We prefer leave it to clowns to try to catch falling knives, like this stock.  It's worth remembering that investors call buying a steeply falling share price 'catching a falling knife' because it is a dangerous pass time.      

The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

NasdaqGS:PGEN Earnings and Revenue Growth June 4th 2024

We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year.  Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business.   This free report showing analyst forecasts should help you form a view on Precigen  

A Different Perspective

Precigen provided a TSR of 16% over the last twelve months.  Unfortunately this falls short of the market return.    But at least that's still a gain! Over five years the TSR has been a reduction of 11% per year, over five years.  So this might be a sign the business has turned its fortunes around.        I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too.   For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Precigen that you should be aware of before investing here.  

Precigen is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find lesser know companies this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.