First Trust Advisors LP Cuts Stake in Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. $HALO

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its holdings in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:HALO) by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 765,918 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 37,776 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Halozyme Therapeutics were worth $39,843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HALO. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Halozyme Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics by 1,558.1% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 713 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Halozyme Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $98,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.79% of the company’s stock.

Halozyme Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:HALO opened at $61.87 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $7.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $67.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.53. Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.26 and a 1-year high of $79.50.

Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HALO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $354.26 million for 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. will post 4.73 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HALO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Halozyme Therapeutics from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Halozyme Therapeutics in a report on Friday, November 28th. Benchmark raised their target price on Halozyme Therapeutics from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Leerink Partners raised Halozyme Therapeutics from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Halozyme Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.10.

Insider Transactions at Halozyme Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Helen Torley sold 16,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.92, for a total value of $1,141,935.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 708,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,844,913.48. This represents a 2.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Nicole Labrosse sold 2,227 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.95, for a total value of $173,594.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,721,058.05. The trade was a 9.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 83,625 shares of company stock valued at $5,932,527 in the last ninety days. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.