Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HALO) Stock

Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HALO) had its price target increased by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $65.00 to $75.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 5.66% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Halozyme Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Halozyme Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Citizens Jmp boosted their price objective on Halozyme Therapeutics from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Halozyme Therapeutics from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Halozyme Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.56.

Halozyme Therapeutics Stock Down 1.5%

NASDAQ:HALO opened at $70.98 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 4.66, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 43.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $72.14 and a 200-day moving average of $70.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.38 billion, a PE ratio of 28.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.97. Halozyme Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $47.50 and a 52 week high of $82.22.

Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HALO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by ($2.16). Halozyme Therapeutics had a return on equity of 136.12% and a net margin of 22.69%.The company had revenue of $451.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $446.13 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. Halozyme Therapeutics’s quarterly revenue was up 51.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Halozyme Therapeutics will post 4.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Halozyme Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Helen Torley sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.64, for a total value of $786,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 708,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,733,662.16. This represents a 1.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Bernadette Connaughton sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.25, for a total transaction of $140,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 40,123 shares in the company, valued at $2,818,640.75. This trade represents a 4.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 49,398 shares of company stock valued at $3,650,592 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Halozyme Therapeutics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Halozyme Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at about $755,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Halozyme Therapeutics during the first quarter worth $195,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in Halozyme Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $436,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics by 2,933.1% in the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 5,308 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 5,133 shares in the last quarter. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Halozyme Therapeutics

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in San Diego, California, that specializes in the development and commercialization of novel drug-delivery technologies. Founded in 1998, Halozyme focuses on enabling subcutaneous administration of biologic therapies through its proprietary platforms. The company’s core mission is to improve patient access and convenience while maintaining efficacy and safety profiles comparable to or better than traditional routes of administration.

The company’s flagship technology, ENHANZE®, is based on recombinant human hyaluronidase PH20 (rHuPH20), an enzyme that transiently degrades hyaluronan in the extracellular matrix.