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Agios Pharmaceuticals (AGIO) Up 13.4% Since Earnings Report: Can It Continue?

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A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AGIO - Free Report) . Shares have added about 13.4% in that time frame.

Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is AGIO due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers.

Agios Q1 Loss Wider than Expected, Revenues Miss

Agios posted first-quarter 2018 loss of $1.63 per share which waswider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $1.60 and the year-ago loss of $1.56.

Total revenues in the reported quarter amounted to $8.8 million, which lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $14 million. Revenues plunged 16.2% from the year-ago figure of $10.5 million due to the adoption of the new revenue recognition standard.

Research & development expenses were up 24.7% year over year to $78.2 million, largely driven by start-up costs for the AG-348 pivotal program in PK deficiency, including the initiation of the ACTIVATE-T trial, initiation of a phase I dose-escalation study of AG-270, the first-in-class MAT2A inhibitor, and IND enabling activities for AG-636, the DHODH inhibitor.

General and administrative expenses increased 66.2% year over year to $24.6 million due to higher costs to support the expected launch of Tibsovo (ivosidenib) in the third quarter of 2018.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

In the past month, investors have witnessed a downward trend in fresh estimates. There has been one revision higher for the current quarter compared to two lower.

Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Price and Consensus

VGM Scores

At this time, AGIO has a poor Growth Score of F, however its Momentum is doing a bit better with a D. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock was allocated a grade of F on the value side, putting it in the fifth quintile for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of F. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

Our style scores indicate investors will probably be better served looking elsewhere.

Outlook

Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. Notably, AGIO has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.


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