Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HALO) Stock Rating Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Halozyme Therapeutics from “strong buy” to “hold.” Analyst views remain mixed, though MarketBeat’s consensus rating is “hold” with an average price target of $108.18.
• Halozyme reported quarterly EPS of $2.39, above the $2.30 estimate, and revenue of $492.97 million, up 39.1% year over year.
• Company insiders sold 124,226 shares worth about $13.37 million over the past three months; insiders retain 2.50% ownership.

Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HALO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on HALO. Citizens Jmp raised their target price on shares of Halozyme Therapeutics from $93.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 6th. HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of Halozyme Therapeutics from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Halozyme Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, November 7th. Citigroup reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Halozyme Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Halozyme Therapeutics from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Monday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $108.18.

Halozyme Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HALO opened at $100.67 on Wednesday. Halozyme Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $61.22 and a 1 year high of $134.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 0.92. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $114.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.36.

Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HALO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.09. Halozyme Therapeutics had a net margin of 26.93% and a return on equity of 751.81%. The firm had revenue of $492.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $491.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.72 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 39.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Halozyme Therapeutics will post 8.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Matthew Posard sold 5,230 shares of Halozyme Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was 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. The trade was a 8.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Helen Torley sold 20,000 shares of Halozyme Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.40, for a total value 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 approximately $83,995,132. This represents a 2.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 124,226 shares of company stock valued at $13,370,893. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HALO. MidFirst Bank bought a new stake in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Halozyme Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $28,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Halozyme Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $30,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Halozyme Therapeutics by 98.0% in the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 303 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Halozyme Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 97.79% of the company's stock.

About Halozyme Therapeutics

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.

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