Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR) Hits New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR) shares reached a new 52-week high of $29.58, reflecting increased investor interest with a trading volume of over 1.6 million shares.
• The stock has a consensus buy rating from analysts, with a target price averaging $43.14, despite a recent downgrade to "hold" by some firms.
• Recent insider trading included the sale of 15,000 shares by insider James C. Hamilton at an average price of $25.00, decreasing their overall ownership by 5.72%.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARWR - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $29.55 and last traded at $29.58, with a volume of 1638708 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.89.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ARWR. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, August 11th. B. Riley raised shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $43.14.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 4.87 and a current ratio of 4.87. The stock's fifty day moving average is $20.47 and its 200 day moving average is $16.68. The stock has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.98 and a beta of 1.00.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.26) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.94) by ($0.32). The company had revenue of $27.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $29.01 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($1.38) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider James C. Hamilton sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $450,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 232,122 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,963,660. This trade represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 40,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,025,000. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oak Ridge Investments LLC raised its position in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 33,734 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,218 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,252 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $194,000 after purchasing an additional 979 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,476 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its position in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 24,300 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. 62.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc develops medicines for the treatment of intractable diseases in the United States. The company's products in pipeline includes Plozasiran, which is in Phase 2b and one Phase 3 clinical trial to treat hypertriglyceridemia, mixed dyslipidemia, and chylomicronemia syndrome; Zodasiran that is in Phase 2b clinical trial for the treatment of dyslipidemia and hypertriglyceridemia; ARO-PNPLA3, which is in Phase 1 clinical trial to treat patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis; ARO-RAGE that is in Phase 1/2a clinical trial to treat inflammatory pulmonary conditions; and ARO-MUC5AC, which is in Phase 1/2a clinical trial to treat muco-obstructive pulmonary diseases.