Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR) Trading Down 6.5% on Disappointing Earnings

Shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARWR) traded down 6.5% during mid-day trading on Friday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as low as $23.11 and last traded at $23.11. 190,341 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 1,373,323 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.72.

The biotechnology company reported ($1.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by ($0.96). Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 163.32% and a negative return on equity of 90.77%. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was down 100.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARWR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Chardan Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday. Citigroup lifted their price target on Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Kenneth Allen Myszkowski sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.19, for a total transaction of $1,407,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 400,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,097,114. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Kenneth Allen Myszkowski sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.19, for a total transaction of $1,407,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 400,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,097,114. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hongbo Lu purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.50 per share, with a total value of $27,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 33,680 shares in the company, valued at $926,200. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 4.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 112.0% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 988 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Institutional investors own 62.61% of the company’s stock.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.02 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.69.

About Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

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.