Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR) Hits New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals shares hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $88.11 and closing near $88.50, up sharply from the prior close of $74.52.
• Wall Street sentiment remains generally positive, with the stock carrying a Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $88.75; several firms recently raised targets, including HC Wainwright at $100 and Stifel at $98.
• The company recently beat earnings expectations, reporting EPS of -$0.93 versus the expected -$1.10, while insiders have also sold shares and institutions continue to hold a majority of the stock at 62.61%.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARWR - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $88.11 and last traded at $88.4960, with a volume of 343079 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $74.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on ARWR. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted 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 note on Wednesday, May 13th. Leerink Partners boosted their price target 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 assumed coverage on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $98.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $88.75.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $77.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 6.23 and a quick ratio of 6.23. The company has a market capitalization of $12.76 billion, a PE ratio of -41.97 and a beta of 1.26.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.93) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.10) by $0.17. The business had revenue of $73.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.84 million. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 55.09% and a negative net margin of 48.38%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 86.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.75 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction of $750,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 226,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,021,850. This trade represents a 4.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Hongbo Lu sold 2,970 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 represents a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARWR. Tsfg LLC bought a new stake in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Optiver Holding B.V. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 285.1% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 335 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 80.6% during the second quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 345 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 62.61% of the company's stock.

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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