Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) Earns Buy Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $320.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price indicates a potential upside of 30.51% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wolfe Research cut Alnylam Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals from $295.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals from $310.00 to $300.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $303.83.

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ALNY opened at $245.20 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $254.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $262.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -112.99 and a beta of 0.35. Alnylam Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $141.98 and a 12 month high of $304.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.27, a current ratio of 2.78 and a quick ratio of 2.71.

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.65) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.62) by ($0.03). As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alnylam Pharmaceuticals will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CMO Pushkal Garg sold 52,592 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.00, for a total transaction of $14,988,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 11,989 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,416,865. This represents a 81.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kevin Joseph Fitzgerald sold 663 shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.21, for a total value of $169,204.23. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,654,862.41. This trade represents a 4.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 72,986 shares of company stock valued at $20,397,849. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alnylam Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Huntington National Bank grew its position in Alnylam Pharmaceuticals by 91.8% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 94 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals by 187.2% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 112 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new stake in Alnylam Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Alnylam Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Alnylam Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.97% of the company’s stock.

About Alnylam Pharmaceuticals

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering, developing, and commercializing novel therapeutics based on ribonucleic acid interference. Its marketed products include ONPATTRO (patisiran) for the treatment of the polyneuropathy of hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis in adults; AMVUTTRA for the treatment of hATTR amyloidosis with polyneuropathy in adults; GIVLAARI for the treatment of adults with acute hepatic porphyria; and OXLUMO for the treatment of primary hyperoxaluria type 1.