Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:HALO) Short Interest Up 8.0% in August

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:HALO) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,670,000 shares, a growth of 8.0% from the July 31st total of 8,950,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,350,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.2 days. Currently, 7.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Halozyme Therapeutics Stock Performance

HALO opened at $63.85 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $56.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.15. The company has a quick ratio of 6.21, a current ratio of 7.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.19. Halozyme Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $32.83 and a 12-month high of $65.53.

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

Insider Activity at Halozyme Therapeutics

In related news, SVP Michael J. Labarre sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.75, for a total value of $617,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 168,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,384,868. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Matthew L. Posard sold 9,881 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.70, for a total transaction of $570,133.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 69,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,031,729.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael J. Labarre sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.75, for a total value of $617,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 168,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,384,868. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 64,881 shares of company stock worth $3,585,084 in the last quarter. 2.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Halozyme Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,259,514 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $490,072,000 after purchasing an additional 152,870 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Halozyme Therapeutics by 28.1% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,541,266 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $103,379,000 after purchasing an additional 557,350 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Halozyme Therapeutics by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,897,759 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $99,363,000 after buying an additional 209,530 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Halozyme Therapeutics by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,736,122 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $64,167,000 after buying an additional 37,763 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Halozyme Therapeutics by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,518,455 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $56,122,000 after buying an additional 63,748 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Halozyme Therapeutics from $48.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Halozyme Therapeutics from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. JMP Securities cut their price objective on Halozyme Therapeutics from $72.00 to $71.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Halozyme Therapeutics from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Halozyme Therapeutics from $59.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.44.

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.