Prudential Financial Inc. Boosts Stake in Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AGIO)

Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AGIO) by 111.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 104,922 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 55,400 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.18% of Agios Pharmaceuticals worth $3,448,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,631,321 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $185,045,000 after purchasing an additional 85,339 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Agios Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $783,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Agios Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $329,000. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in Agios Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 15,176 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,361 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright initiated coverage on shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $58.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Agios Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals from $53.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Tsveta Milanova sold 2,804 shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.18, for a total transaction of $90,232.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $608,395.08. This trade represents a 12.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 4.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Agios Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AGIO opened at $27.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $32.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.58. Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.66 and a 52-week high of $62.58.

Agios Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AGIO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.74) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.69) by ($0.05). Agios Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 1,845.92% and a negative return on equity of 2.51%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -6.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agios Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.