Short Interest in Agenus Inc. (NASDAQ:AGEN) Declines By 94.6%

Agenus Inc. (NASDAQ:AGEN) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,590,000 shares, a drop of 94.6% from the March 31st total of 47,720,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 665,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.9 days. Approximately 13.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Agenus Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AGEN traded up $0.88 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $8.30. 960,558 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 628,664. Agenus has a one year low of $4.78 and a one year high of $42.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $173.89 million, a PE ratio of -0.56 and a beta of 1.26. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.83.

Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($2.60) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by ($2.20). The business had revenue of $83.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.21 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Agenus will post -8.21 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AGEN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Agenus in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. B. Riley reduced their target price on Agenus from $120.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Agenus in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Garo H. Armen acquired 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.00 per share, for a total transaction of $325,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 31,298 shares in the company, valued at $406,874. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Agenus

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AGEN. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Agenus by 3,008.8% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,306,248 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 2,232,064 shares in the last quarter. Braidwell LP boosted its position in Agenus by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 6,307,030 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $7,127,000 after buying an additional 1,609,100 shares during the period. Pennant Investors LP acquired a new stake in Agenus during the 4th quarter worth approximately $389,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Agenus by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,938,439 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $30,440,000 after buying an additional 432,202 shares during the period. Finally, Caxton Associates LP raised its holdings in Agenus by 247.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 390,234 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $441,000 after purchasing an additional 277,863 shares during the last quarter. 61.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Agenus

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.