Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIGL) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts have given Rigel an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" based on six brokerages (three buys, three holds) with a consensus 12‑month target price of about $45.67.
• Insider Director Walter H. Moos sold 4,000 shares at $36.36 (a 23.92% reduction in his stake); institutional ownership is high at 66.23% after large increases from firms like State Street, LSV and Armistice.
• Rigel reported quarterly EPS of $1.14 (missed estimates of $1.33) and revenue of $69.8M, and the stock opened at $30.47 (down ~5.6%) with a market cap near $563M and a 52‑week range of $16.88–$52.24.

Shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIGL - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $45.6667.

RIGL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Walter H. Moos sold 4,000 shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.36, for a total value of $145,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 12,722 shares in the company, valued at $462,571.92. This trade represents a 23.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 10.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rigel Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 96.9% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,091,223 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $46,737,000 after purchasing an additional 536,905 shares in the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC boosted its stake in Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 836,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $35,806,000 after purchasing an additional 112,000 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 613,600 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $26,280,000 after buying an additional 12,267 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its position in Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 390.8% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 544,282 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $23,312,000 after buying an additional 433,382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 539,009 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $23,086,000 after buying an additional 64,800 shares during the last quarter. 66.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 5.6%

Shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $30.47 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $30.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.45. The company has a quick ratio of 2.30, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Rigel Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $16.88 and a 52-week high of $52.24. The company has a market cap of $563.09 million, a P/E ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.27.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RIGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The biotechnology company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by ($0.19). Rigel Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 79.84% and a net margin of 124.72%.The firm had revenue of $69.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.70 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Rigel Pharmaceuticals will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Rigel Pharmaceuticals

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in South San Francisco, California. Founded in 2003, Rigel focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel small molecule therapeutics targeting immune, hematologic and oncologic diseases. Leveraging a proprietary chemistry platform and expertise in signal transduction pathways, the company aims to address significant unmet medical needs in both rare and common disorders.

Rigel's lead product, fostamatinib (commercially known as Tavalisse®), is an oral spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) inhibitor approved in the United States for the treatment of adult patients with chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP).

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