Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Agenus in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Agenus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $14.00 price objective (up from $8.00) on shares of Agenus in a research report on Thursday. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of Agenus from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.00.

Agenus Stock Performance

Shares of AGEN opened at $7.50 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3.69. Agenus has a 52-week low of $2.71 and a 52-week high of $8.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $335.62 million, a PE ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 1.55.

Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The biotechnology company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($1.08). The business had revenue of $33.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $129.50 million. Agenus had a negative return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 50.49%. Equities research analysts predict that Agenus will post -0.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Agenus

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Agenus by 721.1% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 543,546 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 477,346 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Agenus during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,976,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Agenus by 3,080.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 441,486 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $664,000 after purchasing an additional 427,604 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Agenus by 110.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 420,678 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 220,327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Agenus by 16,654.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 145,760 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 144,890 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.46% of the company’s stock.

About Agenus

Agenus, Inc (NASDAQ:AGEN) is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts. The company focuses on the discovery and development of therapies designed to modulate the immune system’s response to cancer. Leveraging proprietary platforms in checkpoint modulation, vaccine technology and adjuvant systems, Agenus aims to deliver combination regimens that enhance antitumor activity across a variety of solid tumors and hematological malignancies.

Agenus’ pipeline includes monoclonal antibodies targeting immune checkpoints, cytokine-based therapeutics and vaccine candidates built on its engineered heat shock protein (HSP) platform.