Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:REGN) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Regeneron shares fell sharply after Truist Financial cut its price target from $796 to $778, with the stock opening well below its prior close and trading down about 9.6%.
• Several other analysts also trimmed price targets or reiterated cautious views, though the stock still carries a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average target price around $805.78.
• The company recently posted strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share to be paid on June 4.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:REGN - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Monday after Truist Financial lowered their price target on the stock from $796.00 to $778.00. The stock had previously closed at $698.25, but opened at $615.93. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $617.4290, with a volume of 795,328 shares traded.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals from $925.00 to $921.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays lowered their target price on Regeneron Pharmaceuticals from $923.00 to $917.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $700.00 target price (down from $900.00) on shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $800.00 price objective on shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $805.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Huda Y. Zoghbi sold 1,638 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $781.33, for a total transaction of $1,279,818.54. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,703 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,330,604.99. The trade was a 49.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur F. Ryan sold 100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.24, for a total transaction of $70,524.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,503 shares in the company, valued at $12,343,815.72. The trade was a 0.57% 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. Insiders own 6.97% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Regeneron Pharmaceuticals

Here are the key news stories impacting Regeneron Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Regeneron’s phase 3 melanoma trial for fianlimab failed to hit its main goal, a major clinical setback that hurt confidence in the drug pipeline. Reuters article
• Negative Sentiment: Several Wall Street firms lowered price targets, including Citi, Leerink Partners, Wells Fargo, RBC, JPMorgan, Piper Sandler and Truist, reflecting reduced expectations after the trial miss. Benzinga report
• Neutral Sentiment: Regeneron announced a strategic collaboration with Parabilis Medicines to develop Antibody-Helicon™ Conjugates, a potentially important long-term pipeline expansion, but the deal is early-stage and unlikely to offset the immediate trial disappointment. GlobeNewswire release
• Positive Sentiment: Even after the cuts, multiple analysts still maintained bullish or constructive ratings, with targets still implying meaningful upside from current levels. Benzinga report

Institutional Trading of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WPG Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Regeneron Pharmaceuticals by 312.5% in the 4th quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 33 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. SHP Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Titan Wealth CI Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 83.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 9.6%

The company has a current ratio of 3.57, a quick ratio of 2.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company's fifty day moving average is $744.69 and its 200-day moving average is $746.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.30.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:REGN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $9.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.91 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $3.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.48 billion. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 29.65% and a return on equity of 13.16%. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.22 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 37.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.16%.

About Regeneron Pharmaceuticals

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc NASDAQ: REGN is a U.S.-based biotechnology company founded in 1988 and headquartered in Tarrytown, New York. It focuses on discovering, developing, manufacturing and commercializing medicines for serious medical conditions. The company combines laboratory research, clinical development and in-house manufacturing to advance a pipeline of biologic therapies across multiple therapeutic areas.

Regeneron is known for its proprietary drug discovery technologies, including its VelocImmune platform, which is used to generate fully human monoclonal antibodies.

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