Agenus Inc. (NASDAQ:AGEN) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Consensus "Moderate Buy": Four analysts give Agenus a consensus rating of Moderate Buy (1 sell, 1 hold, 1 buy, 1 strong buy) with an average 12‑month target price of $14.50.
• Fundamental update: Agenus reported $0.56 EPS (vs. -$1.27 est.) and $34.2M revenue (vs. $28.1M est.), beating estimates but remaining unprofitable with a negative net margin and ROE; the stock opened at $4.42 and was down about 7.7%.
• Institutional interest: Institutional investors own about 61.46% of the company, and several large funds (Vanguard, Renaissance, AQR, Marshall Wace, Bank of America) significantly increased positions recently.

Shares of Agenus Inc. (NASDAQ:AGEN - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the four ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $14.50.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Agenus in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Agenus from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Agenus from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th.

Agenus Trading Down 7.7%

Shares of AGEN stock opened at $4.42 on Tuesday. Agenus has a 1-year low of $1.96 and a 1-year high of $7.34. The stock has a market cap of $169.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.61 and a beta of 1.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $3.51 and a 200-day moving average of $3.70.

Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 16th. The biotechnology company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.27) by $1.83. The business had revenue of $34.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.10 million. Agenus had a negative net margin of 2.67% and a negative return on equity of 7.65%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Agenus will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Agenus

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Agenus by 1.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,569,533 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $9,893,000 after purchasing an additional 36,983 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Agenus by 721.1% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 543,546 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,707,000 after buying an additional 477,346 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Agenus by 3,080.3% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 441,486 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $664,000 after buying an additional 427,604 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Agenus during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,976,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Agenus by 110.0% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 420,678 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,922,000 after acquiring an additional 220,327 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.46% of the company's stock.

Agenus Company Profile

Agenus, Inc NASDAQ: AGEN is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts. The company focuses on the discovery and development of therapies designed to modulate the immune system's response to cancer. Leveraging proprietary platforms in checkpoint modulation, vaccine technology and adjuvant systems, Agenus aims to deliver combination regimens that enhance antitumor activity across a variety of solid tumors and hematological malignancies.

Agenus' pipeline includes monoclonal antibodies targeting immune checkpoints, cytokine-based therapeutics and vaccine candidates built on its engineered heat shock protein (HSP) platform.

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