Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR) to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $108.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.07.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $2.60 on Wednesday, hitting $55.90. 1,772,723 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,220,603. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.84 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $75.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.86. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $36.57 and a 1-year high of $95.49. The company has a quick ratio of 5.90, a current ratio of 5.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.36) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.23) by ($0.13). Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 47.79% and a negative return on equity of 60.06%. The company had revenue of $75.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.17 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($1.26) earnings per share. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 171.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals will post -3.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Adeoye Y. Olukotun sold 2,000 shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.96, for a total transaction of $173,920.00. Following the sale, the director owned 31,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,747,936. The trade was a 5.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Michael S. Perry sold 11,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $1,012,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 111,459 shares in the company, valued at $9,730,370.70. This represents a 9.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARWR. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $624,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,542 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 663 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,810 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 8,297 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $676,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $20,859,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.61% of the company’s stock.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Arrowhead reported interim Phase 1/2a results for ARO-MAPT, its investigational Alzheimer’s treatment. The drug reportedly crossed the blood-brain barrier and produced up to a 73% reduction in tau, a protein associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The results support the potential of Arrowhead’s TRiM platform for delivering RNA therapies into the central nervous system. Arrowhead Reports Positive Phase 1/2a Data for Alzheimer’s Candidate ARO-MAPT
• Positive Sentiment: UBS initiated coverage of ARWR with a Buy rating and a $109 price target, while Chardan Capital and HC Wainwright reiterated Buy ratings with targets of $115 and $120, respectively. The targets reflect analysts’ confidence in Arrowhead’s pipeline and potential long-term upside. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Receives a New Rating from UBS
• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright projects Arrowhead could earn $9.61 per share in fiscal 2031, a sharp contrast with the expected loss of $3.62 per share for the current fiscal year. This highlights the firm’s view that commercialization of Arrowhead’s pipeline could significantly improve future profitability.
• Neutral Sentiment: The ARO-MAPT findings are interim, early-stage results and will require confirmation in larger, later-stage trials before they can support regulatory approval or commercial revenue.
• Negative Sentiment: After the initial data-driven surge, investors may be taking profits and reassessing valuation. Arrowhead remains unprofitable, recently missed quarterly EPS expectations, and faces substantial clinical, regulatory, and execution risks.

About Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing medicines that silence disease-causing genes. Its research is based primarily on RNA interference (RNAi), a biological process that reduces the production of specific proteins by targeting messenger RNA before it can be used to make those proteins.

The company uses its proprietary Targeted RNAi Molecule (TRiM) platform to design and deliver RNAi therapeutics to selected tissues, including the liver and lungs.