Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 19,184 Shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $ALNY

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB cut its Alnylam Pharmaceuticals stake by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 19,184 shares and ending with 136,185 shares worth about $54.2 million.
• Several analysts remain bullish on ALNY, with recent upgrades and buy ratings leading to a consensus Moderate Buy and an average price target of $463.13.
• Alnylam reported a strong quarter, posting $1.99 EPS versus the $0.87 estimate and revenue of $1.17 billion, up 96.4% year over year.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its holdings in Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALNY - Free Report) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 136,185 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 19,184 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned approximately 0.10% of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals worth $54,154,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Alnylam Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,565,452 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $6,185,846,000 after buying an additional 268,313 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Alnylam Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,222,840 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,293,516,000 after buying an additional 31,184 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in Alnylam Pharmaceuticals by 160.4% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,032,082 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $18,610,000 after buying an additional 2,483,697 shares during the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd raised its holdings in Alnylam Pharmaceuticals by 29.8% in the 2nd quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,121,412 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $691,771,000 after buying an additional 486,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Alnylam Pharmaceuticals by 698.8% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,355,609 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $618,158,000 after buying an additional 1,185,909 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. Chardan Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $463.13.

Insider Activity at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Melissa Mclaughlin sold 2,286 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.42, for a total transaction of $755,340.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,120,156.06. This trade represents a 19.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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, CEO Yvonne Greenstreet sold 6,799 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.65, for a total transaction of $2,227,692.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 98,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,315,464.20. This trade represents a 6.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,255 shares of company stock worth $6,930,337. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company's stock.

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.8%

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $294.30 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 3.06 and a current ratio of 3.13. Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $284.19 and a 52-week high of $495.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $312.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $362.08. The firm has a market cap of $39.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.41 and a beta of 0.31.

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $1.12. Alnylam Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 85.76%. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.44) EPS. The company's revenue was up 96.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 7.36 EPS for the current year.

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Profile

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc NASDAQ: ALNY is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics. Founded to translate the scientific discovery of RNAi into new medicines, Alnylam applies small interfering RNA (siRNA) technology to silence disease-causing genes. The company develops therapies designed to provide durable disease modification by targeting underlying genetic drivers across a range of rare and more prevalent conditions.

Alnylam has advanced multiple siRNA-based products into commercialization, initially using lipid nanoparticle delivery and more recently employing GalNAc-conjugate chemistry to enable targeted delivery to the liver with subcutaneous dosing.

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