UBS Group Upgrades Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR) to "Strong-Buy"

Key Points

• UBS Group upgraded Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals to “Strong Buy,” joining a generally bullish analyst view. The stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $99.07.
• Arrowhead shares fell 4.4% to $55.90, while the company remains unprofitable and recently missed quarterly EPS estimates despite revenue rising 171% year over year.
• Investor interest is supported by interim ARO-MAPT data showing the Alzheimer’s candidate crossed the blood-brain barrier and reduced tau by up to 73%, though the early-stage results still require confirmation in larger trials.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at UBS Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

ARWR has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Leerink Partners upped their price objective on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $61.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $74.00 target price on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.07.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 4.4%

NASDAQ:ARWR traded down $2.60 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $55.90. The stock had a trading volume of 1,772,723 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,220,603. The company has a current ratio of 5.90, a quick ratio of 5.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $36.57 and a 1-year high of $95.49. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.86. The company has a market cap of $7.87 billion, a PE ratio of -24.84 and a beta of 1.29.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.36) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.23) by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $75.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 171.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.26) earnings per share. Analysts predict that Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals will post -3.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Adeoye Olukotun sold 2,000 shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.96, for a total value of $173,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 31,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,747,936. This trade represents a 5.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael Perry sold 11,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $1,012,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 111,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,730,370.70. This represents a 9.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARWR. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $1,208,838,000. Siren L.L.C. increased its stake in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 7.7% during the first quarter. Siren L.L.C. now owns 1,615,476 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $101,290,000 after purchasing an additional 115,000 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 12.2% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,436,990 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $90,119,000 after purchasing an additional 156,544 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 23.8% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,273,266 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $79,612,000 after purchasing an additional 244,530 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $99,623,000. 62.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

Here are the key news stories impacting Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Arrowhead reported interim Phase 1/2a results for ARO-MAPT, its investigational Alzheimer’s treatment. The drug reportedly crossed the blood-brain barrier and produced up to a 73% reduction in tau, a protein associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The results support the potential of Arrowhead’s TRiM platform for delivering RNA therapies into the central nervous system. Arrowhead Reports Positive Phase 1/2a Data for Alzheimer’s Candidate ARO-MAPT
• Positive Sentiment: UBS initiated coverage of ARWR with a Buy rating and a $109 price target, while Chardan Capital and HC Wainwright reiterated Buy ratings with targets of $115 and $120, respectively. The targets reflect analysts’ confidence in Arrowhead’s pipeline and potential long-term upside. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Receives a New Rating from UBS
• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright projects Arrowhead could earn $9.61 per share in fiscal 2031, a sharp contrast with the expected loss of $3.62 per share for the current fiscal year. This highlights the firm’s view that commercialization of Arrowhead’s pipeline could significantly improve future profitability.
• Neutral Sentiment: The ARO-MAPT findings are interim, early-stage results and will require confirmation in larger, later-stage trials before they can support regulatory approval or commercial revenue.
• Negative Sentiment: After the initial data-driven surge, investors may be taking profits and reassessing valuation. Arrowhead remains unprofitable, recently missed quarterly EPS expectations, and faces substantial clinical, regulatory, and execution risks.

About Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing medicines that silence disease-causing genes. Its research is based primarily on RNA interference (RNAi), a biological process that reduces the production of specific proteins by targeting messenger RNA before it can be used to make those proteins.

The company uses its proprietary Targeted RNAi Molecule (TRiM) platform to design and deliver RNAi therapeutics to selected tissues, including the liver and lungs.

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