Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALNY) gapped up prior to trading on Friday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $338.00 to $351.00. The stock had previously closed at $253.55, but opened at $261.82. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Alnylam Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $274.34, with a volume of 692,627 shares trading hands.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on ALNY. Chardan Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Alnylam Pharmaceuticals from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Alnylam Pharmaceuticals from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Alnylam Pharmaceuticals from $275.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Alnylam Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.22.

Insider Activity at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Phillip A. Sharp sold 11,250 shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $3,093,750.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Pushkal Garg sold 52,592 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 11,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,416,865. The trade was a 81.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 71,234 shares of company stock worth $19,958,097. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alnylam Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALNY. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals by 187.2% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 112 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC bought a new position in shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. 92.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $36.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -130.57 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 2.71, a current ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $257.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $259.69.

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.65) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.62) by ($0.03). On average, analysts predict that Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

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.