Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARWR) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $88.11 and last traded at $88.4960, with a volume of 343079 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $74.52.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on ARWR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Leerink Partners increased their price target on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $61.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.75.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 6.23 and a quick ratio of 6.23. The company has a market capitalization of $12.76 billion, a PE ratio of -41.97 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $77.41 and a 200 day moving average of $69.57.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.93) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $73.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.84 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.75 EPS. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was down 86.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider James C. Hamilton sold 10,000 shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $750,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 226,958 shares in the company, valued at $17,021,850. The trade was a 4.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Hongbo Lu sold 2,970 shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.88, for a total transaction of $228,333.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 52,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,998,682.56. This represents a 5.40% 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. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARWR. Tsfg LLC bought a new position in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its stake in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 83.8% in the 1st quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 408 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 285.1% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 335 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 80.6% in the second quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 345 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $29,000. 62.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.