Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR) Receives "Buy" Rating from HC Wainwright

Key Points

• HC Wainwright reiterated a "Buy" rating on Arrowhead with a $100 price target implying ~64.6% upside, while the analyst consensus averages a $81.67 target and a "Moderate Buy" rating mix.
• Arrowhead missed EPS estimates in its latest quarter ($0.22 vs. $0.60 expected) but topped revenue forecasts with $264.03M—a year-over-year revenue surge of ~10,461%.
• Insiders have sold heavily recently (172,100 shares worth ~$11.27M over three months), while institutional ownership is high at 62.61%; the stock traded at $60.75 with a market cap of about $8.51B.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by stock analysts at HC Wainwright in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $100.00 price target on the biotechnology company's stock. HC Wainwright's price objective indicates a potential upside of 64.61% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on ARWR. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $48.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Chardan Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $62.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, B. Riley Financial boosted their price target on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $61.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.67.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARWR traded up $4.48 on Wednesday, reaching $60.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,621,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,032,083. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $9.57 and a 52-week high of $76.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.74 and a beta of 1.23. The stock's 50-day moving average is $63.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 3.38 and a quick ratio of 3.38.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.38). The company had revenue of $264.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $225.66 million. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 35.64% and a net margin of 18.54%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 10461.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($1.39) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals will post -2.42 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals news, Director Mauro Ferrari sold 7,530 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $527,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 69,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,833,710. This trade represents a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider James C. Hamilton sold 40,164 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.11, for a total transaction of $2,534,750.04. Following the sale, the insider owned 171,958 shares in the company, valued at $10,852,269.38. The trade was a 18.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 172,100 shares of company stock worth $11,274,732. 3.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 3,507.8% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,155,998 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $34,065,000 after acquiring an additional 2,096,238 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 3,142.5% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,081,689 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $71,797,000 after purchasing an additional 2,017,489 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $30,414,000. Fred Alger Management LLC boosted 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 worth $121,693,000 after purchasing an additional 1,526,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deerfield Management Company L.P. acquired a new stake in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $34,249,000. 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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