Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

Research analysts at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN) in a note issued to investors on Wednesday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on AGEN. B. Riley reduced their price objective on Agenus from $120.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 18th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Agenus in a research report on Thursday, March 14th.

Agenus Stock Down 8.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ AGEN opened at $4.97 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $104.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.35 and a beta of 1.26. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.29. Agenus has a 52-week low of $4.78 and a 52-week high of $42.60.

Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($2.60) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by ($2.20). The company had revenue of $83.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.21 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Agenus will post -8.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Garo H. Armen bought 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.00 per share, with a total value of $325,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 31,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $406,874. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Agenus

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Agenus by 3,008.8% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,306,248 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 2,232,064 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Agenus by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 690,100 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $780,000 after acquiring an additional 38,600 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in shares of Agenus by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 707,213 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $799,000 after purchasing an additional 205,817 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Agenus by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 107,019 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 27,137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Agenus by 16.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 107,291 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 15,370 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.46% of the company’s stock.

Agenus Company Profile

Agenus Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, discovers and develops immuno-oncology products in the United States and internationally. The company offers Retrocyte Display, an antibody expression platform for the identification of fully human and humanized monoclonal antibodies; and display technologies.