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

Key Points

• Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 14 brokerages, with an average 12-month price target of about $88.17.
• The stock was down 3.0% to $71.91, leaving it below the average price target but still near its recent trading range after hitting a 12-month high of $87.83.
• Arrowhead reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss of ($0.93) per share, though revenue fell sharply year over year and analysts expect the company to post a full-year loss.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARWR - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $88.1667.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ARWR. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Leerink Partners lifted their price target on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $61.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 3.0%

ARWR opened at $71.91 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 6.23, a quick ratio of 6.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market cap of $10.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.45 and a beta of 1.26. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $14.30 and a 12 month high of $87.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $77.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.43.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.93) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.10) by $0.17. The company had revenue of $73.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.84 million. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 55.09% and a negative net margin of 48.38%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.75 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals will post -3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals news, Director Hongbo Lu sold 2,970 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.88, for a total value of $228,333.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 52,012 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,998,682.56. This trade represents a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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 dated Wednesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.35, for a total value of $934,328.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 162,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,623,271.75. This represents a 7.44% decrease in their position. 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 26,065 shares of company stock worth $1,912,662 in the last ninety days. 3.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 285.1% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 335 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 80.6% during the 2nd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 345 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Tsfg LLC acquired a new position in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Optiver Holding B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 83.8% in the first quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 408 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.61% of the company's stock.

About Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

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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