Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR) Reaches New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals hit a new 52-week high after Leerink Partners raised its price target from $61 to $72, with the stock trading as high as $82.48.
• Recent analyst action has been mostly bullish: several firms have lifted targets or upgraded the stock, and the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average price target of $86.36.
• Despite the rally, insiders have recently sold shares, while institutional investors have continued to build positions; Arrowhead also reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss and revenue that was roughly in line with estimates.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARWR - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday after Leerink Partners raised their price target on the stock from $61.00 to $72.00. Leerink Partners currently has a market perform rating on the stock. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals traded as high as $82.48 and last traded at $81.9610, with a volume of 1344503 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $76.55.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley raised Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $100.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, May 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider James C. Hamilton sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 226,958 shares in the company, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly 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. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 three months, insiders have sold 26,065 shares of company stock valued at $1,912,662. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 3,142.5% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,081,689 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $71,797,000 after acquiring an additional 2,017,489 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $113,159,000. Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its position in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 497.4% during the fourth quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 1,832,997 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $121,693,000 after purchasing an additional 1,526,164 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth about $64,988,000. Finally, Deerfield Management Company L.P. bought a new position in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,249,000. 62.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 6.3%

The firm has a market cap of $11.46 billion, a PE ratio of -38.02 and a beta of 1.28. The company's 50 day moving average price is $73.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.21. The company has a quick ratio of 6.23, a current ratio of 6.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $73.74 million during 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 business's revenue for the quarter was down 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.75 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3 EPS 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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