Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Citigroup

Key Points

• Citigroup upgraded Alnylam Pharmaceuticals to “strong-buy”, adding to a generally bullish Wall Street view. The stock now carries an average rating of “Moderate Buy” with a consensus target price of $463.13.
• Alnylam delivered a strong quarterly earnings beat, reporting $1.99 EPS versus expectations of $0.87 and revenue of $1.17 billion, up 96.4% year over year. The company also posted a net margin of 11.72% and return on equity of 85.76%.
• Shares were trading up 2.8% with the stock opening at $294.30, near its 52-week low of $284.19 and well below its 52-week high of $495.55. Institutional ownership remains high at 92.97%, while insiders have recently sold shares.

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Citigroup to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $445.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Freedom Capital raised shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $330.00 price objective (down from $522.00) on shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $408.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals from $415.00 to $429.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $463.13.

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.8%

NASDAQ ALNY opened at $294.30 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.06, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $39.29 billion, a PE ratio of 80.41 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $312.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $362.08. Alnylam Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $284.19 and a 52 week high of $495.55.

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by $1.12. Alnylam Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 85.76%. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.44) EPS. Alnylam Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 96.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alnylam Pharmaceuticals will post 7.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kevin Joseph Fitzgerald sold 1,652 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.73, for a total transaction of $528,193.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 21,860 shares in the company, valued at $6,989,297.80. This trade represents a 7.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Melissa Mclaughlin sold 2,286 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.42, for a total value of $755,340.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,120,156.06. This represents a 19.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 21,255 shares of company stock valued at $6,930,337 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.86% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alnylam Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Alnylam Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $243,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Alnylam Pharmaceuticals by 372.3% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 222 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Flow Traders U.S. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $241,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in Alnylam Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 12,941 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,220,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Alnylam Pharmaceuticals by 70,300.0% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 704 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 703 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.97% of the company's stock.

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc NASDAQ: ALNY is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics. Founded to translate the scientific discovery of RNAi into new medicines, Alnylam applies small interfering RNA (siRNA) technology to silence disease-causing genes. The company develops therapies designed to provide durable disease modification by targeting underlying genetic drivers across a range of rare and more prevalent conditions.

Alnylam has advanced multiple siRNA-based products into commercialization, initially using lipid nanoparticle delivery and more recently employing GalNAc-conjugate chemistry to enable targeted delivery to the liver with subcutaneous dosing.

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