Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AGIO) Short Interest Up 5.6% in October

Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AGIO - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,340,000 shares, an increase of 5.6% from the October 15th total of 4,110,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 524,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.3 days. Approximately 7.9% of the company's stock are sold short.

Agios Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.9 %

NASDAQ AGIO opened at $53.78 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $46.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.87. Agios Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $20.96 and a 52 week high of $62.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.75.

Insider Activity at Agios Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CFO Cecilia Jones sold 2,542 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 20,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $988,346.74. This represents a 11.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Agios Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $97,199,000. Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Agios Pharmaceuticals by 34.1% in the 1st quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 5,590,602 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $163,469,000 after purchasing an additional 1,423,000 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Agios Pharmaceuticals by 307.8% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,133,735 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $48,887,000 after purchasing an additional 855,739 shares in the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP purchased a new position in Agios Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $33,767,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 388,381 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AGIO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, November 1st. Leerink Partners lowered Agios Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $56.00 in a report on Friday, September 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, September 20th. Leerink Partnrs downgraded Agios Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $52.33.

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.