Forte Biosciences (NASDAQ:FBRX) Sees Large Volume Increase - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• argenx agreed to acquire Forte Biosciences for $77 per share in cash, representing approximately a 41% premium to Forte’s previous closing price and valuing the deal at about $2.2 billion.
• The acquisition adds Forte’s experimental autoimmune therapy FB102 to argenx’s immunology pipeline, while Forte shares traded near $76.63 after the announcement.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $72.50; institutional investors own 77.63% of Forte’s outstanding shares.

Shares of Forte Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBRX - Get Free Report) saw strong trading volume on Tuesday . 393,147 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 20% from the previous session's volume of 492,296 shares.The stock last traded at $76.6290 and had previously closed at $76.50.

Key Headlines Impacting Forte Biosciences

Here are the key news stories impacting Forte Biosciences this week:

• Positive Sentiment: argenx will acquire all outstanding Forte Biosciences shares for $77 per share in cash, representing roughly a 41% premium to Forte’s prior closing price. The transaction provides shareholders with a substantial premium and a clear potential exit value. Argenx to buy Forte Biosciences for about $2.2 billion
• Positive Sentiment: argenx said the acquisition will add Forte’s experimental autoimmune therapy FB102 to its immunology portfolio, strengthening its pipeline and expertise in immune-mediated diseases. argenx boosts immuno expertise with buy of Forte Biosciences

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered Forte Biosciences from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $74.00 to $77.00 in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Forte Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Forte Biosciences from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen cut Forte Biosciences from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Evercore set a $77.00 target price on Forte Biosciences in a research note on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $72.50.

Forte Biosciences Stock Up 0.1%

The company's fifty day moving average price is $27.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.24. The company has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.50 and a beta of 2.85.

Forte Biosciences (NASDAQ:FBRX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($1.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.16) by ($0.08). Research analysts forecast that Forte Biosciences, Inc. will post -4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Forte Biosciences

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of Forte Biosciences by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,765,516 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,146,000 after buying an additional 130,136 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Forte Biosciences by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,425,785 shares of the company's stock worth $39,159,000 after acquiring an additional 21,943 shares in the last quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Forte Biosciences by 101.8% in the second quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC now owns 1,196,955 shares of the company's stock worth $15,477,000 after acquiring an additional 603,867 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Forte Biosciences by 16.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 566,741 shares of the company's stock worth $8,501,000 after purchasing an additional 79,822 shares during the period. Finally, Cable Car Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of Forte Biosciences by 127.7% during the 2nd quarter. Cable Car Capital LP now owns 500,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,465,000 after purchasing an additional 280,396 shares in the last quarter. 77.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Forte Biosciences

Forte Biosciences, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing innovative treatments to restore skin health by targeting the underlying biology of the skin barrier and microbiome. Headquartered in San Diego, California, Forte leverages proprietary platforms to discover and advance topical live biotherapeutic products and skin barrier therapies aimed at addressing serious dermatological conditions.

The company's lead product candidate, FB-401, is a topical live biotherapeutic formulation designed to rebalance the skin microbiome in patients with atopic dermatitis.

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