Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIGL) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• "Moderate Buy" consensus from six analysts (three buys, three holds) with an average 1‑year price target of $45.67.
• Director Walter H. Moos sold 4,000 shares at $36.36 (a ~23.9% reduction in his stake); insiders now own 9.48% of the stock while institutional investors hold 66.23%.
• Rigel missed quarterly EPS ($1.14 vs. $1.33 est.) but beat revenue ($69.8M vs. $68.7M); the stock opened at $25.81 (down ~2.1%), well below analyst targets.

Shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIGL - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $45.6667.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on RIGL shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded Rigel Pharmaceuticals from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Rigel Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rigel Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Walter H. Moos sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.36, for a total transaction of $145,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,571.92. The trade was a 23.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 9.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rigel Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at $191,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 11,366 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $204,000 after buying an additional 1,464 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 415,607 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $7,786,000 after buying an additional 4,439 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 130.7% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,310 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 2,442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 27,065 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $507,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. 66.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.1%

NASDAQ RIGL opened at $25.81 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $32.36 and a 200-day moving average of $35.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $476.71 million, a P/E ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.10. Rigel Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $15.50 and a 52 week high of $52.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.30 and a current ratio of 2.42.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RIGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The biotechnology company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.33 by ($0.19). Rigel Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 79.84% and a net margin of 124.72%.The business had revenue of $69.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.70 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Rigel Pharmaceuticals will post 0.22 EPS for the current 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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