Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HALO) Given New $95.00 Price Target at HC Wainwright

Key Points

• HC Wainwright raised its price target on Halozyme from $90 to $95 and maintained a "buy" rating, implying about a 48.8% upside from the stock's prior close.
• Halozyme's latest quarter showed a significant EPS miss (($0.24) vs. $1.92 expected) even as revenue of $451.8M beat estimates and rose roughly 51.6% year‑over‑year.
• Company insiders have been net sellers—including recent sales by the COO and CEO—with 118,857 shares (~$8.28M) sold over the past 90 days, while institutional ownership remains high at about 97.8%.

Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HALO - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by equities research analysts at HC Wainwright from $90.00 to $95.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. HC Wainwright's target price suggests a potential upside of 48.76% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Halozyme Therapeutics from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Halozyme Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. 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 research note on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen lowered Halozyme Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Halozyme Therapeutics from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.11.

Halozyme Therapeutics Trading Down 1.0%

HALO stock opened at $63.86 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $66.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.64. Halozyme Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $47.50 and a fifty-two week high of $82.22. The firm has a market cap of $7.57 billion, a PE ratio of 25.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.03. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.92 by ($2.16). Halozyme Therapeutics had a net margin of 22.69% and a return on equity of 136.12%. The business had revenue of $451.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $446.13 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. Halozyme Therapeutics's revenue for the quarter was up 51.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Halozyme Therapeutics will post 7.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Halozyme Therapeutics news, COO Cortney Caudill sold 8,857 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.64, for a total value of $599,087.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 7,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $477,200.20. This represents a 55.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Helen Torley sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.50, for a total transaction of $635,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 767,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,754,030. This trade represents a 1.29% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 118,857 shares of company stock valued at $8,279,587. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Halozyme Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hodges Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Halozyme Therapeutics by 18.8% in the first quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 134,696 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $8,705,000 after acquiring an additional 21,342 shares in the last quarter. California First Leasing Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth $1,958,000. Marietta Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Halozyme Therapeutics by 38.9% during the 1st quarter. Marietta Investment Partners LLC now owns 49,042 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,170,000 after buying an additional 13,741 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Halozyme Therapeutics by 23.1% during the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,719 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Halozyme Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at about $209,000. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Halozyme Therapeutics Company Profile

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.

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