Fred Alger Management LLC Has $121.69 Million Position in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $ARWR

Key Points

• Fred Alger Management LLC sharply increased its stake in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 497.4% in the fourth quarter, ending with 1,832,997 shares valued at about $121.7 million.
• Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss of ($0.93) per share, though revenue came in roughly in line with estimates and was still down 86.4% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $87.80, even as some insiders have recently sold shares.

Fred Alger Management LLC increased its position in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARWR - Free Report) by 497.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,832,997 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 1,526,164 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC owned 1.31% of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals worth $121,693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ARWR. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 30.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 45,239 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $576,000 after buying an additional 10,496 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth $514,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 34.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,741,666 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $22,189,000 after purchasing an additional 447,456 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 6.9% during the first 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 last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 1,339.5% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 16,252 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 15,123 shares during the last quarter. 62.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.8%

ARWR stock opened at $76.55 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 6.23, a current ratio of 6.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $73.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.21. The company has a market cap of $10.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.60 and a beta of 1.28. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.30 and a twelve month high of $82.26.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.93) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.10) by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $73.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.84 million. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 55.09% and a negative net margin of 48.38%.The business's revenue was down 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.75 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARWR has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, May 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $78.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Daniel Joseph Apel sold 13,095 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.35, for a total transaction of $934,328.25. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 162,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,623,271.75. The trade was a 7.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $750,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 226,958 shares in the company, valued at $17,021,850. The trade was a 4.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 26,065 shares of company stock valued at $1,912,662. 3.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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