Arvinas (NASDAQ:ARVN) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Arvinas (NASDAQ:ARVN) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Arvinas in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Arvinas from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup upped their price objective on Arvinas from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on Arvinas from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Arvinas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arvinas presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.42.

Arvinas Price Performance

ARVN stock opened at $8.01 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $516.81 million, a PE ratio of -2.41 and a beta of 1.74. Arvinas has a 12 month low of $6.05 and a 12 month high of $14.51.

Arvinas (NASDAQ:ARVN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.90) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.95) by $0.05. Arvinas had a negative net margin of 247.54% and a negative return on equity of 44.38%. The business had revenue of $15.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.61 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 91.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arvinas will post -2.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arvinas news, CFO Andrew Saik sold 5,696 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.16, for a total transaction of $46,479.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 187,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,529,445.12. This represents a 2.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Randy Teel sold 9,657 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.94, for a total value of $95,990.58. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 287,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,854,946.92. This represents a 3.25% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 41,728 shares of company stock valued at $402,649. Company insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arvinas

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Armistice Capital LLC lifted its position in Arvinas by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 1,800,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,348,000 after buying an additional 600,000 shares during the period. TCG Crossover Management LLC purchased a new stake in Arvinas in the 3rd quarter valued at about $13,780,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its holdings in Arvinas by 154.8% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,486,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,668,000 after buying an additional 903,337 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Arvinas by 208.4% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,310,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,198,000 after acquiring an additional 885,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Arvinas by 469.1% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,207,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,286,000 after acquiring an additional 995,125 shares during the last quarter. 95.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Arvinas

Arvinas, Inc (NASDAQ: ARVN) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of therapies based on targeted protein degradation. Utilizing its proprietary proteolysis-targeting chimera (PROTAC®) platform, Arvinas aims to selectively eliminate disease-causing proteins rather than merely inhibit their activity. This novel approach has the potential to address a range of diseases, including oncology, neurodegeneration and inflammation, by harnessing the body’s natural protein-recycling systems.

The company’s most advanced clinical candidates address hormone-driven cancers.