Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARWR) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $19.92, but opened at $18.23. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $19.18, with a volume of 183,105 shares.

The biotechnology company reported ($1.39) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by ($0.97).

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARWR has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $62.00 to $45.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William D. Waddill sold 3,748 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.90, for a total value of $82,081.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 44,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $966,337.50. This represents a 7.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Patrick O’brien sold 29,184 shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.82, for a total transaction of $578,426.88. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 535,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,607,683.82. The trade was a 5.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 147,432 shares of company stock valued at $2,957,986 in the last three months. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $52,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 72.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,978 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 21.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,496 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 45.9% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,224 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 1,644 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.61% of the company’s stock.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.74 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 6.74, a quick ratio of 6.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The company’s fifty day moving average is $20.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.32.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc develops medicines for the treatment of intractable diseases in the United States. The company's products in pipeline includes Plozasiran, which is in Phase 2b and one Phase 3 clinical trial to treat hypertriglyceridemia, mixed dyslipidemia, and chylomicronemia syndrome; Zodasiran that is in Phase 2b clinical trial for the treatment of dyslipidemia and hypertriglyceridemia; ARO-PNPLA3, which is in Phase 1 clinical trial to treat patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis; ARO-RAGE that is in Phase 1/2a clinical trial to treat inflammatory pulmonary conditions; and ARO-MUC5AC, which is in Phase 1/2a clinical trial to treat muco-obstructive pulmonary diseases.