Here's Why Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Lost as Much as 14.2% Today

Shares of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ARWR) fell over 14% today after the investment bank SVB Leerink initiated coverage of the stock with an underperform rating. Arguing that the company is overvalued relative to recent developments and near-term catalysts, analyst Mani Foroohar gave the stock a price target of just $32 (a market valuation of about $3.2 billion). For comparison, shares ended Friday's trading session at over $56 apiece (a market valuation of about $5.6 billion).

Of course, comments made by Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals CEO Christopher Anzalone at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference haven't helped the debate over the company's market valuation. According to Biopharma Dive, Anzalone said of a potential acquisition, "It would shock me if anybody could write a big enough check to make sense to our shareholders." Investors interpreted that as an indication the company was off the table for an acquisition, which cooled speculation of a buyout that had been fueled by a solid year of progress in 2019.

As of 11:38 a.m. EST, the pharma stock was down 12.1%.

Source Fool.com