Agios Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AGIO) Raised to Strong-Buy at Leerink Partnrs

Leerink Partnrs upgraded Agios Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AGIO) from a "hold" to a "strong-buy" rating. Other analysts have mixed ratings, with some downgrading their price targets. The stock opened at $24.57, with a market cap of $1.43 billion. Recent insider sales and institutional inflows were noted. Agios reported a quarterly EPS of ($1.78), beating estimates, with revenue up 43.3% year-over-year.

Agios Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AGIO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Leerink Partnrs from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on AGIO. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday. HC Wainwright cut their price target on Agios Pharmaceuticals from $56.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Agios Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $57.00 to $28.00 in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Agios Pharmaceuticals from $71.00 to $65.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $38.67.

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Agios Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of AGIO opened at $24.57 on Thursday. Agios Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $22.24 and a fifty-two week high of $62.45. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.82. The company has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.51 and a beta of 0.89.

Agios Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AGIO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.78) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.93) by $0.15. Agios Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 28.35% and a negative net margin of 895.86%.The firm had revenue of $12.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $16.22 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 43.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Agios Pharmaceuticals will post -6.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Agios Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CFO Cecilia Jones sold 3,651 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.77, for a total transaction of $134,247.27. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 33,870 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,245,399.90. The trade was a 9.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Sarah Gheuens sold 3,302 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.92, for a total transaction of $145,023.84. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 61,727 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,711,049.84. The trade was a 5.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,099 shares of company stock worth $620,092. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Agios Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth $40,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in Agios Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $45,000. CWM LLC grew its stake in Agios Pharmaceuticals by 150.2% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,659 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Agios Pharmaceuticals by 16.7% in the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,237 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Agios Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $79,000.

About Agios Pharmaceuticals

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Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, discovers and develops medicines in the field of cellular metabolism in the United States. Its lead product includes PYRUKYND (mitapivat), an activator of wild-type and mutant pyruvate kinase (PK), enzymes for the treatment of hemolytic anemias.

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