Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARWR) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 12 firms, with an average 12-month price target of $87.80.
• The company recently reported quarterly earnings of ($0.93) per share, beating estimates, while revenue came in at $73.74 million, roughly in line with expectations but sharply lower than a year ago.
• Several insiders sold shares in recent months, including the CFO and a director, even as institutional investors continue to hold the majority of the stock.

Shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARWR - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $87.80.

A number of research firms have recently commented on ARWR. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, May 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

ARWR stock opened at $74.95 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 6.23 and a current ratio of 6.23. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $67.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.47. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $14.30 and a 52 week high of $82.26. The company has a market capitalization of $10.56 billion, a PE ratio of -34.86 and a beta of 1.28.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.93) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.10) by $0.17. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 48.38% and a negative return on equity of 55.09%. The business had revenue of $73.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $73.84 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.75 earnings per share. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals's revenue was down 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals will post -2.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Hongbo Lu sold 2,970 shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.88, for a total value of $228,333.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 52,012 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,998,682.56. This trade represents a 5.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Daniel Joseph Apel sold 13,095 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.35, for a total value of $934,328.25. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 162,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,623,271.75. This trade represents a 7.44% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 36,065 shares of company stock valued at $2,554,562. 3.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARWR. Tsfg LLC bought a new position in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new stake in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. WPG Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 384.8% during the 4th quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 543 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 177.1% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 737 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. 62.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics. Since its founding in 2008, Arrowhead has leveraged its proprietary delivery platform—known internally as the Advanced RNAi Compound (ARC) technology—to silence disease-causing genes in patients suffering from genetically defined diseases. The company's approach aims to offer durable, targeted treatments across a range of therapeutic areas.

The company's pipeline includes multiple candidates in various stages of development.

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