Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HALO) Stock Moved Down to "Market Perform" by Leerink Partners

Key Points

• Leerink Partners downgraded Halozyme from “outperform” to “market perform,” while raising its price target from $110 to $117, implying 12.9% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst views remain broadly positive: MarketBeat reports a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $106.73, though ratings vary among firms.
• Halozyme beat quarterly earnings estimates, reporting EPS of $2.39 versus $2.30 expected; revenue rose 39.1% year over year to about $493 million.

Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HALO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Leerink Partners from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $117.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company's stock, up from their prior price target of $110.00. Leerink Partners's target price points to a potential upside of 12.90% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on HALO. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Halozyme Therapeutics from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Citizens Jmp increased their price target on shares of Halozyme Therapeutics from $93.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Halozyme Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Halozyme Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of Halozyme Therapeutics from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.73.

Halozyme Therapeutics Stock Performance

Halozyme Therapeutics stock opened at $103.63 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $115.19 and a 200-day moving average of $84.73. Halozyme Therapeutics has a one year low of $61.22 and a one year high of $134.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.50, a current ratio of 3.88 and a quick ratio of 3.60. The company has a market cap of $11.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 0.92.

Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HALO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.09. Halozyme Therapeutics had a return on equity of 751.81% and a net margin of 26.93%. The business had revenue of $492.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $491.63 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.72 earnings per share. Halozyme Therapeutics's quarterly revenue was up 39.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Halozyme Therapeutics will post 8.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Halozyme Therapeutics

In other news, Director Matthew L. Posard sold 5,230 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.54, for a total value of $567,664.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 53,609 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,818,720.86. This represents a 8.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Helen Torley sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.40, for a total transaction of $2,188,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 767,780 shares in the company, valued at $83,995,132. The trade was a 2.54% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 124,226 shares of company stock valued at $13,370,893 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Horizon Investment Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $2,254,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics by 704.6% in the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 60,348 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,723,000 after acquiring an additional 52,848 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,025,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,821,000. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,035,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.79% of the company's stock.

Halozyme Therapeutics Company Profile

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on developing drug-delivery technologies and medicines. Its ENHANZE platform uses a recombinant human hyaluronidase enzyme, rHuPH20, to temporarily modify tissue under the skin and help enable the subcutaneous administration of certain biologic medicines that might otherwise require intravenous infusion.

Halozyme licenses ENHANZE to pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners, which use the technology in their own products. The company also markets Hylenex recombinant, a hyaluronidase product used to facilitate the dispersion and absorption of other injected medicines and fluids.

Founded in 1998 and based in San Diego, California, Halozyme serves patients in multiple countries through its own commercial activities and, particularly for ENHANZE-enabled medicines, through its licensing partners.

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