Agios Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AGIO) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Key Points

• Agios beat earnings and revenue estimates, reporting ($1.69) EPS vs. ($1.82) expected and $20.75M revenue (up 137.7% YoY), and the stock gapped up—opening at $26.50 (from $24.80) and trading up roughly 11%.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: six Buys, four Holds and one Sell lead to an average rating of “Hold” with a consensus target price of $41.78, while several firms revised targets (e.g., Citi to $46, JPMorgan to $36, HC Wainwright to $50).
• Insiders sold shares (15,582 over three months) under Rule 10b5-1 plans to cover taxes—insiders now own 4.93%—even as institutions like Goldman Sachs materially increased their stakes (658,652 shares).

Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AGIO - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $24.80, but opened at $26.50. Agios Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $27.3740, with a volume of 437,023 shares traded.

The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.69) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.82) by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $20.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.91 million. Agios Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 764.01% and a negative return on equity of 31.07%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 137.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AGIO shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, March 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals from $38.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, HC Wainwright dropped their price objective on shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $41.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider James William Burns sold 3,280 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.71, for a total value of $113,848.80. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 49,306 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,711,411.26. This represents a 6.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Sarah Gheuens sold 2,940 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.71, for a total value of $102,047.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 80,277 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,786,414.67. This represents a 3.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders sold 15,582 shares of company stock worth $520,405. Company insiders own 4.93% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Agios Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AGIO. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Agios Pharmaceuticals by 66.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 51,489 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,498,000 after purchasing an additional 20,625 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Agios Pharmaceuticals by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 43,327 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,920 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Agios Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Agios Pharmaceuticals by 16.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 658,652 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $19,299,000 after purchasing an additional 91,482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in Agios Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $597,000.

Agios Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 11.0%

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.07. The firm has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a PE ratio of -3.86 and a beta of 0.79.

Agios Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company founded in 2008 as a spin-out from research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Broad Institute. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Agios focuses on understanding and targeting cellular metabolism to develop novel therapies for cancer and rare genetic diseases. The company's scientific platform integrates genomic discovery, metabolic profiling and precision medicine approaches to identify and advance small-molecule candidates that correct or exploit metabolic dysfunction.

Agios's lead products are IDH (isocitrate dehydrogenase) inhibitors that target specific cancer mutations.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.