Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:ARWR)

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARWR - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders purchased 7,512 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,016% compared to the average volume of 673 put options.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of ARWR traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $13.13. The stock had a trading volume of 118,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,438,907. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.27, a current ratio of 6.09 and a quick ratio of 6.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.53 and a beta of 0.99. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $9.57 and a 52 week high of $30.41. The company's fifty day moving average is $14.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.43.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.39) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.42) by ($0.97). On average, analysts anticipate that Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals will post -2.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Christopher Richard Anzalone sold 51,425 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.07, for a total value of $774,974.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,062,377 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,220,021.39. This represents a 1.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 275,880 shares of company stock worth $4,034,037 over the last 90 days. 4.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 297.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,175 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,628 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $49,000. 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 purchasing an additional 1,250 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 40.8% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,356 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.61% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on ARWR. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Chardan Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $38.00 price objective (down from $51.00) on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $41.44.

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.