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

Key Points

• Consensus "Moderate Buy": Eleven analysts give ARWR a consensus "Moderate Buy" (7 buys, 3 holds, 1 strong buy) with an average 12‑month price target of $83.78 and several firms raising targets (Piper Sandler $110; Morgan Stanley $100).
• Insider selling and institutional ownership: Insiders sold 33,095 shares (~$2.33M) over the last 90 days under Rule 10b5‑1 plans, while institutional investors own 62.61% of the stock and several funds increased positions.
• Recent results and stock metrics: Q1 reported EPS of $0.22 (missed $0.60) but revenue beat at $264M; shares trade near $73.48 with a $10.29B market cap and a 52‑week range of $12.44–$76.76.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARWR - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $83.7778.

ARWR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (up from $100.00) on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Chardan Capital lifted their price objective on Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $61.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd.

Insider Activity at Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CFO Daniel Joseph Apel sold 13,095 shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.35, for a total transaction of $934,328.25. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 162,905 shares in the company, valued at $11,623,271.75. The trade was a 7.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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. Also, insider James C. Hamilton sold 10,000 shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $750,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 226,958 shares in the company, valued at $17,021,850. This represents a 4.22% 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. Insiders have sold 33,095 shares of company stock worth $2,326,228 over the last 90 days. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ARWR. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 30.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 45,239 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $576,000 after purchasing an additional 10,496 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth $514,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 34.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,741,666 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $22,189,000 after acquiring an additional 447,456 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 6.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,252 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $194,000 after acquiring an additional 979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 1,339.5% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 16,252 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $207,000 after acquiring an additional 15,123 shares in the last quarter. 62.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of ARWR stock opened at $73.48 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.03 and a beta of 1.26. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $12.44 and a fifty-two week high of $76.76. The business's 50 day moving average price is $63.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 3.38 and a current ratio of 3.38.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.38). The business had revenue of $264.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $225.66 million. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 35.64% and a net margin of 18.54%.Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 10461.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($1.39) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals will post -3.37 earnings per share for the current year.

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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