Arvinas (NASDAQ:ARVN) Raised to Strong-Buy at Barclays

Key Points

• Analysts at Barclays upgraded Arvinas (NASDAQ:ARVN) to a "strong-buy" rating, while several other firms adjusted their price targets and ratings, reflecting varied confidence in the stock.
• Arvinas reported a loss of ($0.84) EPS for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, but faced a significant revenue decline of 70.7% year-over-year.
• Institutional investors hold a substantial majority of Arvinas shares, owning 95.19% of the company, with several recent modifications in their holdings.

Barclays upgraded shares of Arvinas (NASDAQ:ARVN - Free Report) to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

ARVN has been the subject of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Arvinas from $19.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on Arvinas from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Leerink Partnrs downgraded Arvinas from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 1st. HC Wainwright dropped their target price on Arvinas from $24.00 to $18.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Leerink Partners reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $9.00 price target (down previously from $10.00) on shares of Arvinas in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $17.13.

Arvinas Stock Down 2.6%

ARVN stock traded down $0.20 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $7.52. 3,445,050 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,471,559. Arvinas has a 52 week low of $5.90 and a 52 week high of $29.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $7.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $552.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.45 and a beta of 2.38.

Arvinas (NASDAQ:ARVN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.84) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.87) by $0.03. Arvinas had a negative net margin of 19.47% and a negative return on equity of 12.01%. The company had revenue of $22.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.42 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.49) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 70.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Arvinas will post -3.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arvinas declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, September 17th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 17.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Arvinas

In related news, CFO Andrew Saik sold 5,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.61, for a total value of $43,377.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 164,401 shares in the company, valued at $1,251,091.61. This trade represents a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 4.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arvinas

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in Arvinas during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Arvinas by 965.4% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,656 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 4,219 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Arvinas by 491.4% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,819 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 4,835 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Arvinas by 109.4% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 6,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arvinas by 2,317.5% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,615 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 7,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.19% of the company's stock.

Arvinas Company Profile

Arvinas, Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapies to degrade disease-causing proteins. The company engineers proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTAC) targeted protein degraders that are designed to harness the body's own natural protein disposal system to degrade and remove disease-causing proteins.