Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN) Shares Pass Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Agenus shares moved above their 200-day moving average of $3.59, reaching $6.20 before closing at $6.13 on volume of roughly 1.23 million shares.
• Analyst opinions are mixed: HC Wainwright raised its price target to $30 with a Buy rating, while other firms issued Hold or Sell ratings. MarketBeat reports a consensus rating of Hold and a $30 target price.
• Agenus missed quarterly expectations, reporting $1.02 in EPS versus a $2.10 consensus estimate and revenue of $33.74 million versus $129.50 million expected. Institutional investors own approximately 61.46% of the company.

Agenus Inc. (NASDAQ:AGEN - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $3.59 and traded as high as $6.20. Agenus shares last traded at $6.13, with a volume of 1,233,831 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AGEN shares. HC Wainwright upped their target price on Agenus from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered Agenus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Agenus in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Agenus from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.00.

Agenus Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $274.32 million, a PE ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 1.55. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $3.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.59.

Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The biotechnology company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($1.08). Agenus had a net margin of 50.49% and a negative return on equity of 31.66%. The business had revenue of $33.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $129.50 million. Analysts expect that Agenus Inc. will post -0.22 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Agenus

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Agenus by 608.0% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 78,637 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 67,530 shares during the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Agenus during the fourth quarter worth approximately $316,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Agenus by 35.1% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 61,749 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $194,000 after purchasing an additional 16,034 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in shares of Agenus by 294.9% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 55,142 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $173,000 after purchasing an additional 41,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agenus during the third quarter worth $171,000. 61.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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