Agenus (AGEN) Q2 Earnings Miss Estimates, Revenues Beat

Agenus Inc. (NASDAQ:AGEN) reported second-quarter 2019 loss of 38 cents per share, wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 33 cents and the year-ago quarter’s loss of 24 cents.

The company generated revenues of $15.7 million, including non-cash royalties, down from $15.9 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenues beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5 million.

Shares of the company have rallied 7.6% year to date against the industry’s decline of 0.5%.

Quarterly Highlights

Research and development expenses surged 54.6% to $45.2 million. General and administrative expenses decreased 1% to $11.9 million.

Pipeline Update

Agenus is a clinical-stage, immuno-oncology company with a comprehensive portfolio consisting of antibody-based therapeutics, adjuvants and cancer vaccine platforms.

In December 2018, the company inked a collaboration deal with Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) to develop and commercialize up to five immuno-oncology (I-O) therapies. Agenus received $150 million in upfront cash payment and equity investment and is eligible to receive approximately $1.7 billion in future fees and milestones. In January 2019, it announced the closing of its deal with Gilead.

In August 2019, Agenus received $7.5 million in cash as a milestone payment from Gilead, after the FDA accepted the former's investigational new drug (IND) application for AGEN2373. AGEN1423 is an investigational agent designed to mitigate the toxicity observed with competitor molecules. This molecule has great potential in patients with cancer.

GlaxoSmithKline plc’s (NYSE:GSK) herpes zoster vaccine, Shingrix, which contains Agenus' proprietary immune adjuvant QS-21 Stimulon achieved over $1 billion in revenues in its first year of launch. It remains on track to reach $1.3 billion in revenues in 2019.

Zacks Rank & Stock to Consider

Agenus currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

A better-ranked stock is Acorda Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:ACOR) carrying a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Acorda’s loss per share estimates have narrowed from $3.59 to $2.74 for 2019 in the past 60 days. The company delivered a positive earnings surprise in the trailing four quarters, the average being 69.68%.

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