Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HALO) Stock Price Down 3.5% on Insider Selling

Shares of Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:HALO) dropped 3.5% on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $59.18 and last traded at $60.12. Approximately 258,513 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 1,248,387 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.31.

Specifically, SVP Michael J. Labarre sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.03, for a total transaction of $620,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 173,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,778,084.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HALO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Halozyme Therapeutics from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Halozyme Therapeutics from $48.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Halozyme Therapeutics from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Halozyme Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Halozyme Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.00.

Halozyme Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $7.54 billion, a PE ratio of 24.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.19, a quick ratio of 6.21 and a current ratio of 7.41. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.15.

Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HALO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $231.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $204.94 million. Halozyme Therapeutics had a net margin of 38.62% and a return on equity of 195.80%. Halozyme Therapeutics’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Halozyme Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Halozyme Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,075,000. Chase Investment Counsel Corp bought a new stake in Halozyme Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $4,782,000. Creative Planning increased its position in Halozyme Therapeutics by 43.2% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 37,291 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,953,000 after purchasing an additional 11,249 shares during the last quarter. Doheny Asset Management CA bought a new position in Halozyme Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at $6,470,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth $670,000. 97.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.