Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HALO) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy”

Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HALO) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

HALO has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Halozyme Therapeutics in a research report on Monday. Leerink Partners upgraded Halozyme Therapeutics from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Halozyme Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Halozyme Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Citizens Jmp lifted their price target on Halozyme Therapeutics from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.10.

Halozyme Therapeutics Stock Performance

HALO opened at $63.33 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $68.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $7.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.95. Halozyme Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $46.26 and a 1-year high of $79.50.

Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HALO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $354.26 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $339.18 million. Halozyme Therapeutics had a net margin of 47.91% and a return on equity of 156.95%. Halozyme Therapeutics’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. Research analysts predict that Halozyme Therapeutics will post 4.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Halozyme Therapeutics news, CFO Nicole Labrosse sold 20,000 shares of Halozyme Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.71, for a total value of $1,514,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 24,306 shares in the company, valued at $1,840,207.26. The trade was a 45.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Helen Torley sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.35, for a total value of $1,507,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 733,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,285,726.65. This trade represents a 2.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 103,625 shares of company stock valued at $7,446,727 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Halozyme Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HALO. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics by 2.9% during the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 42,133 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Koa Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Halozyme Therapeutics by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Koa Wealth Management LLC now owns 85,478 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,454,000 after buying an additional 3,071 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in Halozyme Therapeutics by 80.7% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,749 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $175,000 after buying an additional 1,228 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics during the first quarter worth $731,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics by 110.3% during the first quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 13,795 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $880,000 after buying an additional 7,234 shares in the last quarter. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.