Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 386,618 Shares of Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:HALO)

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:HALO) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,281,714 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 386,618 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.10% of Halozyme Therapeutics worth $634,999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Halozyme Therapeutics by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 871 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 35,300 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,688,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its holdings in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 47,663 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,279,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,800 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its stake in Halozyme Therapeutics by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 14,062 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $672,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HALO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Halozyme Therapeutics from $62.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Halozyme Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Halozyme Therapeutics from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Halozyme Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.78.

Halozyme Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HALO opened at $63.84 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.85. The stock has a market cap of $7.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.61, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 7.80, a quick ratio of 9.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.14. Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.73 and a 12 month high of $66.00.

Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HALO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $298.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $285.74 million. Halozyme Therapeutics had a net margin of 43.74% and a return on equity of 157.78%. As a group, analysts predict that Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. will post 4.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Halozyme Therapeutics

In other news, SVP Michael J. Labarre sold 1,697 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.28, for a total transaction of $98,901.16. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 173,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,126,499.68. This represents a 0.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jeffrey William Henderson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.01, for a total value of $500,100.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 43,611 shares in the company, valued at $2,180,986.11. This trade represents a 18.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,697 shares of company stock worth $1,754,451 over the last quarter. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Halozyme Therapeutics

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc, a biopharma technology platform company, researches, develops, and commercializes proprietary enzymes and devices in the United States, Switzerland, Belgium, Japan, and internationally. The company's products are based on the patented recombinant human hyaluronidase enzyme (rHuPH20) that enables delivery of injectable biologics, such as monoclonal antibodies and other therapeutic molecules, as well as small molecules and fluids.