Jennison Associates LLC Makes New Investment in Avalo Therapeutics, Inc. $AVTX

Key Points

• Jennison Associates bought 475,625 shares (~$8.64M) in Q4 and now owns 2.57% of Avalo Therapeutics, while institutional investors collectively hold about 87.06% of the stock.
• The stock carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $44.83, supported by several recent buy/outperform initiations and target prices up to $50.00.
• Insiders have been net sellers—63,015 shares worth roughly $987,326 were sold in the past three months (including Rule 10b5-1 trades by Mittie Doyle and CFO Christopher Ryan Sullivan), leaving insiders with 4.46% ownership.

Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Avalo Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVTX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 475,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,637,000. Jennison Associates LLC owned 2.57% of Avalo Therapeutics as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BIT Capital GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Avalo Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. PFS Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Avalo Therapeutics by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Boothbay Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avalo Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $56,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Avalo Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $143,000. Finally, Prelude Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avalo Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $313,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Avalo Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, March 29th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on Avalo Therapeutics in a report on Monday, February 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright upped their target price on Avalo Therapeutics from $25.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Avalo Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, April 9th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Avalo Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Mittie Doyle sold 3,970 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.01, for a total value of $71,499.70. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 3,622 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,232.22. The trade was a 52.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Christopher Ryan Sullivan sold 8,457 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.23, for a total value of $111,886.11. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,596.29. This represents a 95.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 63,015 shares of company stock worth $987,326. Insiders own 4.46% of the company's stock.

Avalo Therapeutics Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of AVTX opened at $13.71 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $15.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.21. Avalo Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $3.39 and a 52 week high of $20.72. The stock has a market cap of $366.19 million, a P/E ratio of -2.39 and a beta of 0.78.

Avalo Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AVTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 23rd. The company reported ($0.37) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.54) by $1.17. The company had revenue of $0.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of ($0.21) million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Avalo Therapeutics, Inc. will post -4.04 EPS for the current year.

Avalo Therapeutics Profile

Avalo Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapies for cardiometabolic, fibrotic and inflammatory diseases. The company's proprietary drug-design platform enables the creation of long-acting prodrugs with optimized pharmacokinetic profiles, aiming to improve efficacy, safety and patient adherence. By leveraging this technology, Avalo seeks to address key drivers of disease progression that remain underserved by existing treatments.

Its lead programs include AVTX-002, a first-in-class prodrug candidate designed to inhibit angiotensinogen for the treatment of hypertension and related cardiovascular disorders, and AVTX-006, an early-stage candidate targeting pathways implicated in fibrosis and metabolic dysfunction.

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