22nd Century Group (NASDAQ:XXII) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Alliance Global Partners

Alliance Global Partners started coverage on shares of 22nd Century Group (NASDAQ:XXII – Get Rating) in a note issued to investors on Thursday, The Fly reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $5.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. Alliance Global Partners’ price target suggests a potential upside of 152.53% from the company’s current price.

Separately, Craig Hallum started coverage on shares of 22nd Century Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $5.00 price objective on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $5.90.

22nd Century Group Stock Down 4.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ XXII opened at $1.98 on Thursday. 22nd Century Group has a 52 week low of $1.42 and a 52 week high of $4.17. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $1.93 and its 200 day moving average is $2.12. The company has a market cap of $325.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.65 and a beta of 1.82.

22nd Century Group (NASDAQ:XXII – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.01. 22nd Century Group had a negative net margin of 109.97% and a negative return on equity of 43.44%. The company had revenue of $9.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.38 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.03) earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that 22nd Century Group will post -0.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Franzino sold 20,324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.69, for a total value of $34,347.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 405,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $685,420.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 22nd Century Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of XXII. Ballew Advisors Inc boosted its stake in 22nd Century Group by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Ballew Advisors Inc now owns 53,923 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 7,423 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in 22nd Century Group by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 138,964 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $429,000 after buying an additional 40,300 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in 22nd Century Group in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. raised its position in 22nd Century Group by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 98,793 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 20,496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in 22nd Century Group by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 51,087 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 10,815 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.18% of the company’s stock.

About 22nd Century Group

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22nd Century Group, Inc, an agricultural biotechnology company, focuses on tobacco harm reduction, reduced nicotine tobacco, and enhancing health and wellness through plant science for the life science and consumer products industries. It develops very low nicotine content tobacco and cigarette products under the VLN King and VLN Menthol King names; and SPECTRUM research cigarettes for use in independent clinical studies.