Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN) Earns "Buy" Rating from HC Wainwright

Key Points

• Agenus (NASDAQ: AGEN) received a reaffirmed "buy" rating from HC Wainwright with a target price of $23.00, indicating a potential upside of 406.61% from its current stock price.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings miss, with an EPS of ($1.00), falling short of the consensus estimate of ($0.78), along with revenue of $25.70 million against expected figures of $49.71 million.
• Institutional investors hold 61.46% of Agenus's shares, with notable increases in positions from Deutsche Bank AG and Bank of America during the fourth quarter.

Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by investment analysts at HC Wainwright in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $23.00 price objective on the biotechnology company's stock. HC Wainwright's price target would indicate a potential upside of 450.24% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wall Street Zen cut Agenus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 17th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Agenus from $4.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Agenus to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $14.50.

Agenus Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AGEN traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $4.18. 317,055 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 503,657. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.58 and a beta of 1.44. Agenus has a 52-week low of $1.38 and a 52-week high of $7.34. The company's 50-day moving average is $5.27 and its 200-day moving average is $3.77.

Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.00) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.78) by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $25.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.71 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Agenus will post -12.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Agenus

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Corton Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Agenus during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Agenus by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,007 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in Agenus in the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Agenus in the 2nd quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Agenus in the 1st quarter valued at about $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.46% of the company's stock.

About Agenus

Agenus Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, discovers and develops immuno-oncology products in the United States and internationally. The company offers Retrocyte Display, an antibody expression platform for the identification of fully human and humanized monoclonal antibodies; and display technologies.