Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN) Cut to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Agenus was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from “buy” to “hold”, adding to a mixed analyst picture for the stock.
• The company recently reported a much larger-than-expected quarterly miss, posting $1.02 EPS versus estimates of $2.10 and revenue of $33.74 million versus $129.50 million expected.
• Despite the downgrade, Agenus shares were trading at $5.01, with MarketBeat showing an average analyst rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.00.

Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Agenus in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Agenus from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of Agenus from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Agenus presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.00.

Agenus Stock Performance

Shares of Agenus stock opened at $5.01 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $208.62 million, a PE ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.55. Agenus has a 52 week low of $2.71 and a 52 week high of $8.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $3.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.49.

Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The biotechnology company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($1.08). Agenus had a negative return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 50.49%.The firm had revenue of $33.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $129.50 million. Research analysts forecast that Agenus will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Agenus

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AGEN. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Agenus during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Agenus in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Redwood Family Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Agenus during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Agenus during the fourth quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in Agenus during the third quarter worth about $54,000. 61.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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