Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR) Sets New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals shares hit a new 52-week high after Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target from $80 to $87 and maintained an outperform rating. The stock traded as high as $80.27, above its prior close of $72.69.
• Several other analysts remain bullish on ARWR, with recent targets ranging from $88 to $110, and the stock currently carries a Moderate Buy consensus rating with an average price target of $84.90.
• Recent insider sales and earnings results were mixed: CFO Daniel Joseph Apel and insider James C. Hamilton sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans, while the company’s latest quarterly EPS beat estimates but revenue fell sharply year over year.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARWR - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday after Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on the stock from $80.00 to $87.00. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals traded as high as $80.27 and last traded at $78.1930, with a volume of 782704 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $72.69.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on ARWR. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $61.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, May 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $84.90.

Insider Activity at Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

In other Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Daniel Joseph Apel sold 13,095 shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.35, for a total transaction of $934,328.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 162,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,623,271.75. The trade was a 7.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $750,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 226,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,021,850. The trade was a 4.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 33,095 shares of company stock valued at $2,326,228. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARWR. Tsfg LLC acquired a new position in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $29,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. WPG Advisers LLC raised its position in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 384.8% during the fourth quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 543 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 177.1% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 737 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. 62.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $11.03 billion, a PE ratio of -36.41 and a beta of 1.28. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $64.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 6.23 and a quick ratio of 6.23.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.10) by $0.17. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 48.38% and a negative return on equity of 55.09%. The business had revenue of $73.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.84 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.75 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.18 EPS for the current fiscal 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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