Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR)

Key Points

• Unusually heavy put buying hit Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, with traders purchasing 1,813 put options on Monday, about 32% above its average daily put volume.
• ARWR shares fell to $73.75 on Monday, down $2.65, while the company remains near the upper end of its 12-month range and has a market cap of about $10.39 billion.
• Analyst sentiment is still broadly positive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $87.27, even as insiders have sold shares in recent months.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARWR - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Investors bought 1,813 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 32% compared to the average daily volume of 1,375 put options.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of ARWR traded down $2.65 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $73.75. The stock had a trading volume of 498,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,463,713. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $14.30 and a 12 month high of $87.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.39 billion, a PE ratio of -34.29 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 6.23 and a current ratio of 6.23. The company's 50-day moving average is $77.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.39.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.93) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.10) by $0.17. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 55.09% and a negative net margin of 48.38%.The business had revenue of $73.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.84 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.75 EPS. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was down 86.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals will post -3 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, May 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings cut Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $35.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $87.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Daniel Joseph Apel sold 13,095 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 162,905 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $750,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 226,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,021,850. This represents a 4.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,065 shares of company stock valued at $1,912,662. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 80.6% during the second quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 345 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,347 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $820,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp boosted its position in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 36.2% during the first quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 654 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,102 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $737,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. grew its holdings in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 83.8% during the 1st quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 408 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. 62.61% of the stock is currently 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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