Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Agenus from “strong buy” to “hold,” bringing the overall analyst consensus to “hold” with an average price target of $19.50.
• Agenus shares opened at $7.32, versus a 12-month range of $2.71 to $8.85. The company reported quarterly revenue of $34.52 million but missed earnings estimates, posting a loss of $0.01 per share against expectations for $0.05 in earnings.
• Institutional investors own 61.46% of Agenus, with several major funds—including Renaissance Technologies, AQR Capital Management and Bank of America—recently increasing their positions or acquiring stakes.

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

AGEN has been the topic of several other research reports. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $25.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of Agenus in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $14.00 price target (up from $8.00) on shares of Agenus in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research cut shares of Agenus from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Agenus from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.50.

Agenus Price Performance

Shares of AGEN opened at $7.32 on Monday. Agenus has a 12 month low of $2.71 and a 12 month high of $8.85. The company has a market cap of $329.55 million, a P/E ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $4.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.95.

Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $34.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.00 million. Agenus had a net margin of 69.33% and a negative return on equity of 47.68%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Agenus will post -0.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Agenus

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Agenus by 721.1% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 543,546 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,707,000 after buying an additional 477,346 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Agenus during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,976,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Agenus by 3,080.3% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 441,486 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $664,000 after acquiring an additional 427,604 shares during the period. Globeflex Capital L P purchased a new stake in shares of Agenus in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,281,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Agenus by 110.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 420,678 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,922,000 after acquiring an additional 220,327 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.46% of the company's stock.

About Agenus

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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