Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR) Shares Gap Down - What's Next?

Key Points

• Shares gapped down — ARWR opened at $56.02 after a $60.77 close and last traded near $59.99, even as multiple analysts raised price targets (average target: $81.67) and the consensus rating is "Moderate Buy."
• Earnings mixed: Arrowhead reported $0.22 EPS vs. $0.60 expected (an EPS miss) but posted revenue of $264.0M vs. $225.7M expected, with revenue up dramatically year‑over‑year; sell‑side analysts still forecast -2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• Insider selling notable: Executives sold sizable stakes recently (CEO and COO sales among 172,100 shares over 90 days worth ~$11.3M), while institutional investors own about 62.6% of the stock and insiders hold 3.6%.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARWR - Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $60.77, but opened at $56.02. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $59.9940, with a volume of 542,373 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Chardan Capital increased their target price on Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $48.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. B. Riley Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $61.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.67.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.2%

The company has a quick ratio of 3.38, a current ratio of 3.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock's 50 day moving average is $63.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.18. The company has a market capitalization of $8.53 billion, a PE ratio of 39.83 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

In other Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Christopher Richard Anzalone sold 51,726 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.13, for a total transaction of $3,575,818.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,805,926 shares in the company, valued at $263,103,664.38. This represents a 1.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Patrick O'brien sold 49,493 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.11, for a total value of $3,123,503.23. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 474,908 shares in the company, valued at $29,971,443.88. This trade represents a 9.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 172,100 shares of company stock worth $11,274,732. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Marex Group plc acquired a new position in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $576,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 74.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 372,282 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $12,661,000 after buying an additional 158,937 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in 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 worth $34,065,000 after buying an additional 2,096,238 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,823,000. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 55.3% in the third quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 73,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,466,000 after buying an additional 26,000 shares during the last quarter. 62.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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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