Allogene Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ALLO) Trading Up 8.3% – Still a Buy?

Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALLO) shares rose 8.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $2.28 and last traded at $2.2950. Approximately 2,562,938 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 8,146,050 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.12.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALLO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of Allogene Therapeutics from $8.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Allogene Therapeutics from $1.60 to $3.85 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Allogene Therapeutics from $1.60 to $3.85 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Allogene Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Allogene Therapeutics from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $8.52.

Allogene Therapeutics Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $785.23 million, a PE ratio of -2.95 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.90.

Allogene Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ALLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.01. On average, equities analysts predict that Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Allogene Therapeutics

In other news, CEO David D. Chang sold 47,763 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.47, for a total transaction of $117,974.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,150,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,721,979.53. The trade was a 0.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 72,183 shares of company stock worth $177,771 over the last three months. Insiders own 13.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Allogene Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALLO. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Allogene Therapeutics by 177.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,853,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,547,000 after buying an additional 3,747,397 shares in the last quarter. Kalehua Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allogene Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $3,488,000. Patient Square Capital LP grew its position in shares of Allogene Therapeutics by 66.5% during the fourth quarter. Patient Square Capital LP now owns 4,963,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,800,000 after buying an additional 1,982,360 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Allogene Therapeutics by 125.6% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,390,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,204,000 after buying an additional 1,887,302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in shares of Allogene Therapeutics by 109.7% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 3,383,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,196,000 after buying an additional 1,770,419 shares in the last quarter. 83.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Allogene Therapeutics Company Profile

Allogene Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing allogeneic, or “off-the-shelf,” chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) therapies to treat a range of hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. The company leverages gene-editing technologies to generate universally compatible engineered T cells, aiming to overcome the limitations of patient-specific CAR T approaches such as manufacturing delays, variable product quality and treatment resistance.

The company’s pipeline includes multiple allogeneic CAR T candidates targeting key antigens in blood cancers.