Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HALO) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Benchmark

Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HALO) was downgraded by research analysts at Benchmark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 target price on shares of Halozyme Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Halozyme Therapeutics from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Halozyme Therapeutics from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Halozyme Therapeutics from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.78.

Halozyme Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ HALO opened at $67.71 on Wednesday. Halozyme Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $41.28 and a 1-year high of $70.51. The company has a 50 day moving average of $61.30 and a 200-day moving average of $55.70. The company has a current ratio of 7.80, a quick ratio of 9.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.14. The firm has a market cap of $8.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.74, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.26.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Halozyme Therapeutics news, Director Jeffrey William Henderson sold 503 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.05, for a total value of $32,217.15. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 33,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,120,567.40. This represents a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael J. Labarre sold 1,697 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.28, for a total value of $98,901.16. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 173,756 shares in the company, valued at $10,126,499.68. The trade was a 0.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,697 shares of company stock valued at $1,276,552 over the last ninety days. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Halozyme Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,845,000. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in Halozyme Therapeutics by 41.9% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 895,191 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $57,122,000 after purchasing an additional 264,130 shares in the last quarter. Castellan Group lifted its position in Halozyme Therapeutics by 118.5% during the first quarter. Castellan Group now owns 254,477 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $16,238,000 after purchasing an additional 138,007 shares during the period. Lindenwold Advisors INC grew its stake in Halozyme Therapeutics by 59.4% during the first quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 7,970 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $509,000 after buying an additional 2,970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. increased its holdings in Halozyme Therapeutics by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 23,906 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,525,000 after buying an additional 626 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.79% of the company’s stock.

About Halozyme Therapeutics

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.