Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AGIO) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AGIO) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,280,000 shares, an increase of 10.1% from the September 15th total of 2,980,000 shares. Approximately 6.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 503,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.5 days.

Agios Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.8 %

Agios Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $42.04 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $44.55 and a 200-day moving average of $40.83. Agios Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $19.80 and a 52-week high of $53.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.65 and a beta of 0.75.

Agios Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AGIO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.69) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.60) by ($0.09). Agios Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 47.05% and a negative net margin of 1,165.69%. The business had revenue of $8.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.34 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($1.51) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Agios Pharmaceuticals will post -4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agios Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Brian Goff sold 11,091 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $474,140.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,368,358. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Cecilia Jones sold 2,542 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total transaction of $124,634.26. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $988,346.74. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian Goff sold 11,091 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $474,140.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,368,358. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Agios Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AGIO. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Agios Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,527,438 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $123,096,000 after acquiring an additional 59,851 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Agios Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 39,248 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,148,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the period. Oak Ridge Investments LLC acquired a new position in Agios Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth $1,171,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Agios Pharmaceuticals by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 266,588 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,824,000 after buying an additional 30,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allen Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals by 20.5% during the first quarter. Allen Investment Management LLC now owns 43,571 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,274,000 after acquiring an additional 7,405 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on AGIO. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Leerink Partners downgraded Agios Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $56.00 in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Agios Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.20.

About Agios Pharmaceuticals

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.