Autolus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AUTL) Trading Up 5.2% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Autolus Therapeutics shares rose 5.2%, trading at $1.94 with a significant drop in trading volume to 799,498 shares.
• Wells Fargo lowered its price target for the stock from $6.00 to $5.00, while Needham set a higher target of $10.00; the consensus price target is currently $9.12.
• The company recently reported a quarterly earnings per share of -$0.18, surpassing expectations of -$0.24 and generating $13.5 million in revenue.

Autolus Therapeutics PLC Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:AUTL - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 5.2% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $1.98 and last traded at $1.94. 799,498 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 1,788,382 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AUTL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Autolus Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $10.00 price target on shares of Autolus Therapeutics in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Autolus Therapeutics from $6.00 to $5.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $9.12.

Autolus Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $476.39 million, a PE ratio of -2.13 and a beta of 1.90. The business's fifty day moving average is $2.30 and its 200-day moving average is $1.89.

Autolus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AUTL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.92 million. Analysts forecast that Autolus Therapeutics PLC Sponsored ADR will post -0.94 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Autolus Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AUTL. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in Autolus Therapeutics by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 906,767 shares of the company's stock worth $2,131,000 after buying an additional 174,485 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Autolus Therapeutics by 146.7% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 618,942 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,455,000 after purchasing an additional 368,071 shares during the last quarter. Knott David M Jr purchased a new position in shares of Autolus Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at about $651,000. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Autolus Therapeutics by 392.0% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 297,736 shares of the company's stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 237,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Autolus Therapeutics by 91.6% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,653,241 shares of the company's stock worth $3,885,000 after buying an additional 790,437 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.83% of the company's stock.

Autolus Therapeutics Company Profile

Autolus Therapeutics plc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, develops T cell therapies for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases. The company's clinical-stage programs include obecabtagene autoleucel (AUTO1), a CD19-targeting programmed T cell investigational therapy that is in Phase 1b/2 clinical trial for the treatment of adult ALL; AUTO1/22, which is in a Phase 1 clinical trial in pediatric patients with relapsed or refractory ALL; AUTO4, a programmed T cell investigational therapy for the treatment of peripheral T-cell lymphoma targeting TRBC1 and TRBC2; AUTO6NG, a programmed T cell investigational therapy targeting GD2 in development for the treatment of neuroblastoma; and AUTO8, a product candidate to treat multiple myeloma.