Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Decreases Stake in Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $AGIO

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its stake in Agios Pharmaceuticals by 39.2% in the first quarter, selling 43,287 shares and leaving it with 67,153 shares valued at about $2.27 million.
• Agios reported a quarterly loss of ($1.69) per share, which was better than expected, and revenue of $20.75 million, well above analyst estimates and up 137.7% from a year earlier.
• Despite several buy ratings from analysts, the stock’s overall consensus remains Hold, with a target price of $40.89; meanwhile, insiders also sold shares during the quarter.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its position in shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AGIO - Free Report) by 39.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 67,153 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 43,287 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.11% of Agios Pharmaceuticals worth $2,272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGIO. Creative Planning grew its holdings in Agios Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,119 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $527,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Agios Pharmaceuticals by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,317 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 132,083 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,393,000 after buying an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,834 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in Agios Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 20,325 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $796,000 after acquiring an additional 662 shares in the last quarter.

Agios Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of AGIO opened at $37.11 on Wednesday. Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.24 and a fifty-two week high of $46.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.11. The company has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.12 and a beta of 0.59.

Agios Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AGIO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.69) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.81) by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $20.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.30 million. Agios Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 34.11% and a negative net margin of 639.84%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 137.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -6.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider James William Burns sold 3,280 shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 49,306 shares in the company, valued at $1,711,411.26. This trade represents a 6.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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, CFO Cecilia Jones sold 3,141 shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.71, for a total transaction of $109,024.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 54,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,908,980.58. This trade represents a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 quarter, insiders have sold 12,623 shares of company stock valued at $438,144. Company insiders own 5.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AGIO. Citigroup upped their target price on Agios Pharmaceuticals from $38.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Bank of America cut their price target on Agios Pharmaceuticals from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 29th. HC Wainwright reduced their price objective on Agios Pharmaceuticals from $65.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen raised Agios Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, March 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Agios Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $40.89.

About Agios Pharmaceuticals

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.

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