Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARWR - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $13.97, but opened at $15.75. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $15.56, with a volume of 844,732 shares changing hands.

The biotechnology company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $2.81. The company had revenue of $542.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.27 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($1.02) EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and issued a $38.00 price target (down previously from $51.00) on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Chardan Capital restated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Christopher Richard Anzalone sold 51,425 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.07, for a total transaction of $774,974.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,062,377 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,220,021.39. The trade was a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 275,880 shares of company stock worth $4,034,037 over the last quarter. Insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 17,400 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 744 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 37,994 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $714,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares during the period. Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 2.5% in the first quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 33,734 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 823 shares during the period. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 12,900 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,476 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $184,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195 shares during the period. 62.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.3%

The stock's 50 day moving average is $13.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.83. The company has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a PE ratio of -3.00 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 6.09, a current ratio of 6.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.27.

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.