Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HALO) Coverage Initiated at The Goldman Sachs Group

Investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HALO - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm set a "neutral" rating and a $55.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price objective indicates a potential downside of 3.83% from the company's current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on HALO. Leerink Partnrs cut shares of Halozyme Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $72.00 price target on shares of Halozyme Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Leerink Partners downgraded shares of Halozyme Therapeutics from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $47.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Halozyme Therapeutics from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Halozyme Therapeutics from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $73.00 to $62.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Halozyme Therapeutics has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.50.

Halozyme Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HALO traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $57.19. 601,079 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,752,674. The company's 50-day moving average is $55.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13, a current ratio of 8.39 and a quick ratio of 7.30. The company has a market capitalization of $7.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.20, a PEG ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.15. Halozyme Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $42.01 and a 1 year high of $70.51.

Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HALO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $264.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $231.21 million. Halozyme Therapeutics had a net margin of 44.76% and a return on equity of 136.91%. The business's revenue was up 35.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Halozyme Therapeutics will post 4.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Helen Torley sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.43, for a total transaction of $1,128,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 733,719 shares of the company's stock, valued at $41,403,763.17. This represents a 2.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jeffrey William Henderson sold 4,497 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.37, for a total transaction of $271,483.89. Following the sale, the director directly owned 28,611 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,727,246.07. The trade was a 13.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 64,497 shares of company stock valued at $3,533,884 in the last three months. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HALO. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $60,054,000. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $35,773,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics by 141.3% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 992,887 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $47,470,000 after buying an additional 581,475 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics by 154.5% in the first quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 910,169 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $58,078,000 after buying an additional 552,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics by 171.2% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 831,414 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $39,750,000 after buying an additional 524,802 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.79% of the company's stock.

About Halozyme Therapeutics

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc, a biopharma technology platform company, researches, develops, and commercializes proprietary enzymes and devices in the United States, Switzerland, Belgium, Japan, and internationally. The company's products are based on the patented recombinant human hyaluronidase enzyme (rHuPH20) that enables delivery of injectable biologics, such as monoclonal antibodies and other therapeutic molecules, as well as small molecules and fluids.