Intrexon Corp. (XON) Upgraded to Buy at Vetr Inc.

Intrexon Corp. (NYSE:XON) was upgraded by investment analysts at Vetr from a “strong sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Thursday. The brokerage currently has a $27.01 price target on the stock. Vetr‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 9.31% from the stock’s current price.

Intrexon Corp. (NYSE:XON) traded down 3.36% on Thursday, reaching $24.71. 749,760 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged. The firm’s market capitalization is $2.92 billion. Intrexon Corp. has a 1-year low of $18.52 and a 1-year high of $69.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $24.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.57.

Intrexon Corp. (NYSE:XON) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 10th. The company reported ($0.55) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.20) by $0.35. The business had revenue of $43.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $46.26 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Intrexon Corp. will post ($1.32) earnings per share for the current year.

XON has been the subject of several other reports. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Intrexon Corp. in a research note on Thursday, April 21st. Griffin Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Intrexon Corp. in a research note on Wednesday, May 18th. Wunderlich restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Intrexon Corp. in a research note on Thursday, July 7th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Intrexon Corp. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 19th. Finally, JMP Securities assumed coverage on shares of Intrexon Corp. in a research note on Tuesday, May 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $42.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Intrexon Corp. currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $47.70.

Several hedge funds have modified their holdings of the company. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Intrexon Corp. by 3.4% in the first quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Intrexon Corp. by 321.0% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,000 after buying an additional 4,407 shares during the period. Gateway Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Intrexon Corp. during the first quarter worth $203,000. Alpine Partners VI LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Intrexon Corp. during the first quarter worth $292,000. Finally, Aperio Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Intrexon Corp. during the first quarter worth $299,000.

In other Intrexon Corp. news, CEO Randal J. Kirk bought 41,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $23.92 per share, with a total value of $1,000,573.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Intrexon Corporation (Intrexon) forms collaborations to create biologically based products and processes using synthetic biology. The Company designs, builds and regulates gene programs, which are deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequences that consist of genetic components. The Company’s synthetic biology capabilities include the ability to control the amount, location and modification of biological molecules to control the function and output of living cells and optimize for desired results at an industrial scale.