The Goldman Sachs Group Reaffirms Neutral Rating for Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR)

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs reaffirmed a Neutral rating on Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals with a $74 price target, implying approximately 10.5% upside from the prior close. The broader analyst consensus is more favorable, with a Moderate Buy rating and an average target of $98.31.
• Arrowhead shares opened at $66.96 after falling 6.8%; the company’s latest quarterly results missed EPS expectations but substantially exceeded revenue forecasts, with revenue rising 171% year over year.
• Two directors sold a combined 13,600 shares in August, while institutional investors own 62.61% of the company. Arrowhead is developing RNAi-based medicines through its TRiM delivery platform for multiple diseases.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "neutral" rating reiterated by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $74.00 price target on the biotechnology company's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's target price points to a potential upside of 10.51% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on ARWR. Leerink Partners upped their price target on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $61.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, August 31st. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $98.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $101.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.31.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 6.8%

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $66.96 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.45. The company has a quick ratio of 5.90, a current ratio of 5.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The company has a market cap of $9.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.76 and a beta of 1.28. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $31.45 and a 52-week high of $95.49.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.36) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $75.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.17 million. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 60.06% and a negative net margin of 47.79%.The company's revenue was up 171.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.26) EPS. Analysts predict that Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals will post -3.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

In other Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals news, Director Michael Perry sold 11,600 shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $1,012,680.00. Following the sale, the director owned 111,459 shares in the company, valued at $9,730,370.70. The trade was a 9.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Adeoye Olukotun sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.96, for a total transaction of $173,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 31,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,747,936. This represents a 5.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ARWR. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 7.1% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,810 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 5.2% in the second quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 8,297 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $676,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $20,859,000. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $367,000. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $3,533,000. 62.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc NASDAQ: ARWR is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing medicines that silence disease-causing genes. The company uses RNA interference (RNAi), a biological process that reduces the production of specific proteins, to target conditions that may be difficult to treat with conventional drugs.

Arrowhead's proprietary TRiM platform is designed to deliver RNAi-based therapies to different tissues, including the liver, lungs and other organs. Its investigational pipeline has included candidates for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, liver disorders, pulmonary conditions and inflammatory diseases.

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