Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:HALO) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:HALO) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,420,000 shares, an increase of 5.8% from the September 30th total of 9,850,000 shares. Currently, 8.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,330,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.8 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Halozyme Therapeutics news, Director Matthew L. Posard sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.72, for a total transaction of $557,200.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 89,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,001,148.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Matthew L. Posard sold 10,000 shares of Halozyme Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.72, for a total value of $557,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 89,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,001,148.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Matthew L. Posard sold 9,881 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.70, for a total value of $570,133.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 69,874 shares in the company, valued at $4,031,729.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 89,881 shares of company stock worth $5,169,834. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Halozyme Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Halozyme Therapeutics by 96.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 517 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Whittier Trust Co. bought a new position in Halozyme Therapeutics during the first quarter worth $27,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new position in Halozyme Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp bought a new stake in Halozyme Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at $57,000. Institutional investors own 97.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on HALO. HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of Halozyme Therapeutics from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Halozyme Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $52.00 to $57.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Halozyme Therapeutics from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Halozyme Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Halozyme Therapeutics from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.00.

Halozyme Therapeutics Stock Performance

Halozyme Therapeutics stock opened at $57.15 on Friday. Halozyme Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $33.15 and a 12-month high of $65.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.19, a current ratio of 7.41 and a quick ratio of 6.21. The company has a market capitalization of $7.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $57.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.81.

Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HALO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.18. Halozyme Therapeutics had a return on equity of 195.80% and a net margin of 38.62%. The business had revenue of $231.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.94 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Halozyme Therapeutics will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.