Allogene Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ALLO) Stock Bumped Down to Sell by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Allogene Therapeutics from “hold” to “sell.” Despite the move, analysts overall maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $8.30.
• Shares opened at $1.04, near the stock’s 52-week low of $0.98; the company reported quarterly earnings of a $0.15 loss per share, matching analyst estimates.
• Institutional investors own 83.63% of the company, with several funds adding or opening positions during the second quarter. Two executives also sold shares to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards.

Allogene Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ALLO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $6.00 price target on shares of Allogene Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, August 17th. William Blair upgraded shares of Allogene Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Allogene Therapeutics from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Allogene Therapeutics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $8.30.

Allogene Therapeutics Stock Performance

Allogene Therapeutics stock opened at $1.04 on Friday. Allogene Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $0.98 and a 1 year high of $4.46. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $1.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $1.96. The company has a market cap of $359.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.65 and a beta of 0.76.

Allogene Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ALLO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.15). Sell-side analysts predict that Allogene Therapeutics will post -0.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Earl Douglas sold 29,697 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.12, for a total value of $62,957.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 488,267 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,035,126.04. This represents a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Geoffrey M. Parker sold 36,342 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.34, for a total value of $48,698.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,045,877 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,401,475.18. This trade represents a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 13.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ALLO. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Allogene Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $62,706,000. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. increased its holdings in Allogene Therapeutics by 491.2% in the second quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 22,446,668 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,689,000 after purchasing an additional 18,650,000 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new stake in shares of Allogene Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,297,000. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new position in Allogene Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $6,797,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Allogene Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,630,000. Institutional investors own 83.63% of the company's stock.

Allogene Therapeutics Company Profile

Allogene Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing allogeneic, or “off-the-shelf,” CAR T cell therapies for cancer. Unlike conventional autologous CAR T treatments, which are manufactured from an individual patient's own cells, Allogene's approach uses healthy donor cells that can potentially be produced in advance and administered more quickly.

The company's investigational pipeline has included cemacabtagene ansegedleucel (cema-cel, formerly ALLO-501A) for certain patients with large B-cell lymphoma, as well as other allogeneic CAR T candidates being studied in blood cancers such as multiple myeloma and in solid tumors, including renal cell carcinoma.

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