Arrowhead Research Corporation (NASDAQ: ARWR)
Arrowhead Research Corporation (ARWR), a biopharmaceutical company announced yesterday a study resulting in peak reduction in HBsAg of up to 99% after a single dose with hepatitis B candidate ARC-250 in treatment naive cohort of Phase 2a study. Study also showed single dose reductions in HBsAG of up to 98%.
Arrowhead Research Corporation CEO’s Comments
Christopher Anzalone, Ph.D., president and CEO of Arrowhead, said,
“These are exciting data that represent a significant leap forward for our DPC™ platform, ARC-520, and the HBV field. We have achieved the highest knockdown ever reported in humans with RNAi and a safety profile that continues to be excellent. We are optimistic that this will ultimately translate into powerful clinical outcomes for ARC-520 and follow-on candidates against multiple indications.” Business Wire
ARWR Technical Analysis
ARWR gapped up in price yesterday to $9.01, up from the prior day’s close of $6.74, which is a 34% increase in price based on favorable news. Taking a look at the daily chart, we can see the last time the stock traded above this price level was back on January 9th when the stock closed at $9.06. Taking a look a little further down the daily chart we can see that back on September 29, 2014 the stock was trading at $15.05 only to drop all the way to $5.50 on October 14, 2014. That massive drop is equivalent to a 63% move down based on disappointing hepatitis B drug data. Since then, the stock has been below $8 besides the one spike up in January when it hit $9 but quickly dropped right back below $8. The stock does have a high float of 58.91 million, not making it ideal for the gap and go strategy. However, it does have a 26% short float and was trading on heavy volume, at almost 7 times the normal daily trading volume. The stock did reach pre market highs of $10 which means it did give back $0.99 at the open or equivalent to 10%. For trading purposes, my entry point would have been $9.10 looking for a run to $10. My stop loss would have been $8.90 fearing anything below that and the stock would start to fill in the gap up.
Company Profile
Arrowhead Research Corporation develops novel drugs to treat intractable diseases in the United States. The company’s principal product candidates comprise ARC-520, an RNAi-based therapeutic that is in Phase IIa clinical trial to treat chronic hepatitis B virus infection; and ARC-AAT, a novel unlocked nucleobase analog containing RNAi-based therapeutic for the treatment of liver disease associated with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. Its platform technology include Dynamic Polyconjugate platform, an RNAi delivery system that addresses multiple organ systems and cell types. The company is also involved in the development of Adipotide, which is in phase I clinical trial for the treatment of obesity and metabolic disorders; and CRLX-101 that is in phase II clinical trial to treat various cancer types, including relapsed renal cell carcinoma, relapsed ovarian cancer, and non-metastatic rectal cancer. It has research collaboration and license agreement with Shire AG to develop and commercialize targeted peptide-drug conjugates. The company was formerly known as InterActive Group, Inc. Arrowhead Research Corporation was incorporated in 1989 and is headquartered in Pasadena, California. Yahoo Finance
