Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN) Stock Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Agenus stock crossed above its 200-day moving average of $3.67, trading as high as $4.30 and last at $4.15 (up about 4.8%) on roughly 1.3 million shares traded.
• Analyst coverage is mixed but the consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $14.50 (1 Strong Buy, 2 Buy, 1 Hold, 1 Sell).
• The company reported an unexpected quarterly earnings beat—$0.56 EPS vs. consensus -$1.27 and $34.2M revenue vs. $28.1M expected—yet analysts still forecast -$12.55 EPS for the current year and the stock has a market cap of about $159M.

Agenus Inc. (NASDAQ:AGEN - Get Free Report) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $3.67 and traded as high as $4.30. Agenus shares last traded at $4.15, with a volume of 1,296,172 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AGEN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Agenus from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Agenus from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Agenus in a report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Agenus has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $14.50.

Agenus Trading Up 4.8%

The stock has a market cap of $159.36 million, a PE ratio of -9.02 and a beta of 1.60. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.67.

Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 16th. The biotechnology company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.27) by $1.83. The company had revenue of $34.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $28.10 million. Agenus had a negative return on equity of 7.65% and a negative net margin of 2.67%. On average, research analysts predict that Agenus Inc. will post -12.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Agenus

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AGEN. Redwood Family Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Agenus in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Ovata Capital Management Ltd bought a new stake in Agenus during the fourth quarter worth about $97,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Agenus in the fourth quarter worth about $108,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Agenus in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Agenus during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. 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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