Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HALO) Stock Rating Lowered by Leerink Partnrs

Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HALO) was downgraded by stock analysts at Leerink Partnrs from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

HALO has been the topic of several other research reports. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $72.00 target price on shares of Halozyme Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Leerink Partners lowered shares of Halozyme Therapeutics from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $47.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Halozyme Therapeutics from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Halozyme Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Benchmark lowered shares of Halozyme Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Halozyme Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.90.

Halozyme Therapeutics Trading Down 4.6%

HALO stock opened at $47.91 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.91. The company has a quick ratio of 9.15, a current ratio of 7.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.14. Halozyme Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $42.01 and a 52-week high of $70.51. The firm has a market cap of $5.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.97, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.26.

Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HALO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $264.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $231.21 million. Halozyme Therapeutics had a net margin of 43.74% and a return on equity of 157.78%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Halozyme Therapeutics will post 4.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Michael J. Labarre sold 1,697 shares of Halozyme Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.28, for a total value of $98,901.16. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 173,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,126,499.68. This trade represents a 0.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jeffrey William Henderson sold 5,000 shares of Halozyme Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.69, for a total transaction of $293,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 33,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,972,629.59. This trade represents a 12.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,697 shares of company stock valued at $1,276,552. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Halozyme Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Halozyme Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Halozyme Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Halozyme Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Halozyme Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Halozyme Therapeutics by 62.9% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 536 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.79% of the company’s stock.

Halozyme Therapeutics Company Profile

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.