Short Interest in Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AGIO) Increases By 11.3%

Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AGIO) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,550,000 shares, an increase of 11.3% from the July 15th total of 3,190,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 749,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days. Approximately 6.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Agios Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ AGIO opened at $45.03 on Monday. Agios Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $19.80 and a 12 month high of $50.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $44.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.17. The stock has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.13 and a beta of 0.79.

Agios Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AGIO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.69) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.60) by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $8.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.34 million. Agios Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 1,165.69% and a negative return on equity of 44.84%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($1.51) earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Agios Pharmaceuticals will post -2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on AGIO. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals from $33.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Agios Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, June 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Brian Goff sold 11,091 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Agios Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Agios Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 5,654,502 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $243,822,000 after acquiring an additional 63,900 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,572,021 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $162,926,000 after purchasing an additional 44,583 shares during the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 3,524,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $78,479,000 after purchasing an additional 200,000 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,596,764 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $57,832,000 after purchasing an additional 137,873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals by 23.9% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,012,993 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $58,861,000 after buying an additional 388,381 shares during the last quarter.

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.