Horizon Investments LLC Decreases Stock Position in Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. $HALO

Key Points

• Horizon Investments LLC cut its Halozyme Therapeutics stake by 91.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 32,553 shares and leaving it with 2,908 shares worth about $196,000.
• Halozyme reported mixed quarterly results: revenue came in at $451.77 million, above expectations and up 51.6% year over year, but EPS of -$0.24 badly missed the consensus estimate of $1.92.
• Analysts remain divided on the stock, with the consensus rating at Hold and an average price target of $79.11, while recent insider sales and institutional trading showed continued activity in the shares.

Horizon Investments LLC reduced its position in Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:HALO - Free Report) by 91.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,908 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 32,553 shares during the quarter. Horizon Investments LLC's holdings in Halozyme Therapeutics were worth $196,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sigma Planning Corp increased its position in Halozyme Therapeutics by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 9,592 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $646,000 after buying an additional 1,741 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Halozyme Therapeutics by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 125,968 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $8,478,000 after buying an additional 853 shares during the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Halozyme Therapeutics by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 53,118 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,575,000 after buying an additional 5,506 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management increased its position in Halozyme Therapeutics by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 18,689 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,258,000 after buying an additional 921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $88,000. 97.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Halozyme Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:HALO opened at $64.12 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.89. Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $47.50 and a 52-week high of $82.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $65.86 and a 200 day moving average of $68.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 43.89, a quick ratio of 3.66 and a current ratio of 4.66.

Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HALO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.92 by ($2.16). The business had revenue of $451.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $446.13 million. Halozyme Therapeutics had a net margin of 22.69% and a return on equity of 136.12%. Halozyme Therapeutics's quarterly revenue was up 51.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.26 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. will post 7.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Halozyme Therapeutics

In related news, Director Bernadette Connaughton sold 1,625 shares of Halozyme Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.48, for a total transaction of $103,155.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 38,498 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,443,853.04. This trade represents a 4.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Cortney Caudill sold 8,857 shares of Halozyme Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.64, for a total value of $599,087.48. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 7,055 shares of the company's stock, valued at $477,200.20. This represents a 55.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 90,482 shares of company stock valued at $6,073,942. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on HALO shares. HC Wainwright raised their price target on Halozyme Therapeutics from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Halozyme Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings lowered Halozyme Therapeutics from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Halozyme Therapeutics from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Halozyme Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Halozyme Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.11.

About Halozyme Therapeutics

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in San Diego, California, that specializes in the development and commercialization of novel drug-delivery technologies. Founded in 1998, Halozyme focuses on enabling subcutaneous administration of biologic therapies through its proprietary platforms. The company's core mission is to improve patient access and convenience while maintaining efficacy and safety profiles comparable to or better than traditional routes of administration.

The company's flagship technology, ENHANZE®, is based on recombinant human hyaluronidase PH20 (rHuPH20), an enzyme that transiently degrades hyaluronan in the extracellular matrix.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.