Sanford C. Bernstein Boosts Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR) Price Target to $46.00

Key Points

• Sanford C. Bernstein raised its price target on Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $35 to $46 while keeping a market perform rating, though that target still implies downside from the previous close.
• Other analysts remain more bullish: several firms have issued buy/overweight ratings, and the consensus view on Wall Street is Moderate Buy with an average price target of $87.80.
• Arrowhead beat quarterly EPS estimates but posted weak revenue and profitability metrics, with revenue down 86.4% year over year; the stock recently traded near its 52-week high after a sharp run-up.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from $35.00 to $46.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "market perform" rating on the biotechnology company's stock. Sanford C. Bernstein's price target would indicate a potential downside of 41.47% from the company's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. B. Riley Financial raised their price target on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $61.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, May 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $110.00 target price (up from $100.00) on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.80.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.45 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $78.59. The company had a trading volume of 982,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,587,857. The company has a current ratio of 6.23, a quick ratio of 6.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a market capitalization of $11.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.50 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.17. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $14.30 and a 1-year high of $80.67.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.93) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.10) by $0.17. The business had revenue of $73.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.84 million. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 48.38% and a negative return on equity of 55.09%. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was down 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.75 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals will post -3.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Daniel Joseph Apel sold 13,095 shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.35, for a total transaction of $934,328.25. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 162,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,623,271.75. This trade represents a 7.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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, insider James C. Hamilton sold 10,000 shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $750,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 226,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,021,850. This represents a 4.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 33,095 shares of company stock worth $2,326,228. Insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tsfg LLC bought a new stake in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. WPG Advisers LLC lifted its position in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 384.8% in the 4th quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 543 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 177.1% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 737 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. 62.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics. Since its founding in 2008, Arrowhead has leveraged its proprietary delivery platform—known internally as the Advanced RNAi Compound (ARC) technology—to silence disease-causing genes in patients suffering from genetically defined diseases. The company's approach aims to offer durable, targeted treatments across a range of therapeutic areas.

The company's pipeline includes multiple candidates in various stages of development.

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