MacroGenics (NASDAQ:MGNX) Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

MacroGenics (NASDAQ:MGNX) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of MacroGenics in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays initiated coverage on MacroGenics in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $3.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MacroGenics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $2.00 price target on shares of MacroGenics in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Leerink Partners lowered their price objective on shares of MacroGenics from $8.00 to $5.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3.60.

MacroGenics Stock Down 6.3%

MacroGenics stock traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $1.50. 1,801,448 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 896,834. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.81 million, a PE ratio of -2.63 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $1.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.59. MacroGenics has a 52 week low of $0.99 and a 52 week high of $3.84.

MacroGenics (NASDAQ:MGNX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.48) by $0.75. MacroGenics had a negative net margin of 21.99% and a negative return on equity of 40.24%. The company had revenue of $72.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.72 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MacroGenics will post -1.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MacroGenics news, Director William K. Heiden purchased 50,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $1.52 per share, for a total transaction of $76,760.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 61,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $93,480. This represents a 459.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 13.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MacroGenics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MGNX. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in MacroGenics by 55.9% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 17,179 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 6,161 shares during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of MacroGenics by 52.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 26,720 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 9,172 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in shares of MacroGenics by 41.8% in the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 31,557 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 9,295 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of MacroGenics by 0.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,224,234 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,097,000 after buying an additional 11,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XML Financial LLC increased its holdings in MacroGenics by 68.7% during the second quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 32,336 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 13,167 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.89% of the company’s stock.

About MacroGenics

MacroGenics, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, develops, manufactures, and commercializes antibody-based therapeutics to treat cancer in the United States. Its approved product is MARGENZA (margetuximab-cmkb), a human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) receptor antagonist indicated, in combination with chemotherapy, for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer who have received two or more prior anti-HER2 regimens.