Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR) Now Covered by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan initiated coverage of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR) with an "overweight" rating and an $88 price target, implying about a 19.8% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive—one Strong Buy, eight Buy and three Hold—giving a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $84.20, with firms like Morgan Stanley and B. Riley lifting targets toward $100.
• Arrowhead reported quarterly EPS of $0.22 versus a $0.60 estimate (an EPS miss) but beat on revenue at $264.0M with dramatic year-over-year growth; the stock sits at a market cap of $10.29B and insiders recently sold shares under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.

Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR - Get Free Report) in a report released on Friday. The brokerage set an "overweight" rating and a $88.00 price target on the biotechnology company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price points to a potential upside of 19.76% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on ARWR. B. Riley Financial increased their target price on Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $61.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Chardan Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $84.20.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of ARWR opened at $73.48 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $63.47 and a 200-day moving average of $59.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 3.38 and a quick ratio of 3.38. The company has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.03 and a beta of 1.26. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $12.44 and a 1 year high of $76.76.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider James C. Hamilton sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $750,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 226,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,021,850. This trade represents a 4.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Daniel Joseph Apel sold 13,095 shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.35, for a total value of $934,328.25. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 162,905 shares in the company, valued at $11,623,271.75. This trade represents a 7.44% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders sold 33,095 shares of company stock valued at $2,326,228. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARWR. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 3,142.5% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,081,689 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $71,797,000 after buying an additional 2,017,489 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $113,159,000. Fred Alger Management LLC raised its position in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 497.4% in the fourth quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 1,832,997 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $121,693,000 after acquiring an additional 1,526,164 shares during the period. Deerfield Management Company L.P. purchased a new position in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $34,249,000. Finally, Vestal Point Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,751,000. 62.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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