Wall Street Zen Downgrades argenex (NASDAQ:ARGX) to Hold

argenex (NASDAQ:ARGX) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on ARGX. DZ Bank raised shares of argenex to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,070.00 price objective on shares of argenex in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on argenex from $1,028.00 to $1,248.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on argenex from $1,095.00 to $1,316.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $858.00 price objective (down from $924.00) on shares of argenex in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $986.72.

argenex Price Performance

Shares of ARGX stock opened at $788.49 on Friday. argenex has a one year low of $510.05 and a one year high of $934.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $870.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $756.11. The stock has a market cap of $48.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.38.

argenex (NASDAQ:ARGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $4.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.37 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. argenex had a net margin of 41.58% and a return on equity of 29.78%. Equities research analysts anticipate that argenex will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARGX. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in argenex by 32.1% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of argenex by 5,962.5% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $862,000 after acquiring an additional 1,431 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in argenex by 14.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 168,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,886,000 after acquiring an additional 21,805 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in argenex by 22.3% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 400 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in argenex by 550.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 117 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.32% of the company’s stock.

About argenex

argenx (NASDAQ: ARGX) is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of antibody-based therapeutics for severe autoimmune and neuromuscular diseases. The company uses its proprietary SIMPLE Antibody platform to generate differentiated antibodies and engineered Fc regions, and it pursues mechanisms that modulate the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) to reduce pathogenic IgG levels. Argenx’s research and development activities span target identification, preclinical development and late-stage clinical programs aimed at addressing unmet needs in immunology.

The company’s lead product, efgartigimod (marketed as Vyvgart), is an FcRn antagonist developed to reduce circulating IgG antibodies and treat IgG-mediated disorders.