Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Makes New $4.85 Million Investment in Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. $HALO

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:HALO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 72,085 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,851,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HALO. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Halozyme Therapeutics by 3,118.2% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 354 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Halozyme Therapeutics by 87.6% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 424 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Halozyme Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HALO opened at $61.63 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.30 billion, a PE ratio of 24.75, a PEG ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 0.98. Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $47.50 and a 1 year high of $82.22. The company has a current ratio of 4.66, a quick ratio of 3.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 43.89. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.76.

Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HALO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by ($2.16). The firm had revenue of $451.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $446.13 million. Halozyme Therapeutics had a net margin of 22.69% and a return on equity of 136.12%. The firm’s revenue was up 51.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. will post 4.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Halozyme Therapeutics

In other news, COO Cortney Caudill sold 8,857 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.64, for a total transaction of $599,087.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 7,055 shares in the company, valued at $477,200.20. The trade was a 55.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bernadette Connaughton sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.25, for a total value of $140,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 40,123 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,818,640.75. This represents a 4.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 90,857 shares of company stock worth $6,500,287 in the last 90 days. 2.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HALO. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Halozyme Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Halozyme Therapeutics from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Halozyme Therapeutics from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen lowered Halozyme Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of Halozyme Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.56.

Halozyme Therapeutics Profile

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.