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

Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Agenus in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Agenus currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.50.

Agenus Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of Agenus stock opened at $3.71 on Friday. Agenus has a 12-month low of $1.38 and a 12-month high of $7.34. The stock has a market cap of $142.46 million, a P/E ratio of -8.07 and a beta of 1.57. The business’s 50 day moving average is $3.26 and its 200-day moving average is $3.76.

Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 16th. The biotechnology company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.27) by $1.83. Agenus had a negative return on equity of 7.65% and a negative net margin of 2.67%.The company had revenue of $34.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.10 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Agenus will post -12.55 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Agenus

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Agenus by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,569,533 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $9,893,000 after buying an additional 36,983 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Agenus by 721.1% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 543,546 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,707,000 after buying an additional 477,346 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Agenus by 3,080.3% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 441,486 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $664,000 after acquiring an additional 427,604 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Agenus during the second quarter worth approximately $1,976,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Agenus by 110.0% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 420,678 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,922,000 after acquiring an additional 220,327 shares during the last quarter. 61.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Agenus Company Profile

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.