Shares of Halozyme Therapeutics (HALO) Are Down -3.4% — Is This a Good Entry Point?

Halozyme Therapeutics was one of the market's biggest losers today, losing 3.4% of its value and underperforming both the S&P500 and Dow Industrial composite indices by 0.0%. The mid-cap Health Care company ended the day at $37.5, but is still well above its 52 week low of $29.85 and is 27.75% below its average target price of $51.9. Over the last 12 months, Halozyme Therapeutics is down -25.0%, and has underperformed the S&P 500 by 43.0%. The stock has an average analyst rating of buy.

Halozyme Therapeutics has a trailing 12 month price to earnings (P/E) ratio of 20.1, which corresponds to its share price divided by its trailing earnings per share (EPS) of $1.87. The company's forward P/E ratio is 10.1 based on its forward EPS of $3.7.

Earnings refer to the net income of the company from its sales operations, and the P/E ratio tells us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of these earnings. By way of comparison, the Health Care sector has historically had an average P/E ratio of 24.45. Whether the company's P/E ratio is within a high or low range tells us how investors are currently valuing the stock's earning potential, but it doesn't tell us how its price will move in the future.

Another metric for valuing a stock is its Price to Book (P/B) Ratio, which consists in its share price divided by its book value per share. The book value refers to the present value of the company if it sold all its tangible assets and paid off all debts today. Halozyme Therapeutics's P/B ratio of 19.87 indicates that the market may be overvaluing the company when compared to the average P/B ratio of the Health Care sector, which is 4.16.

To understand Halozyme Therapeutics's business, and therefore its attractiveness as a potential investment, we must analyze its margins in two steps. First, we look at its gross margins, which take into account only the direct cost of providing the product or service to the customer. This enables us to determine whether the company benefits from an advantageous market position:

Date Reported Revenue ($ k) Cost of Revenue ($ k) Gross Margins (%) YoY Growth (%)
2023 773,653 467,592 40 -2.44
2022 660,116 392,585 41 -33.87
2021 443,310 167,408 62 14.81
2020 267,594 123,339 54 258.82
2019 195,992 263,602 -34 26.09
2018 151,862 221,192 -46
  • Average gross margins: 19.5 %
  • Average gross margins growth rate: 10.9 %
  • Coefficient of variability (lower numbers indicate more stability): 602.2 %

Next, we consider the Halozyme Therapeutics's operating margins, which take into account overhead. This tells us whether the company's business model is fundamentally profitable or not:

Date Reported Total Revenue ($ k) Operating Expenses ($ k) Operating Margins (%) YoY Growth (%)
2023 773,653 467,592 40 -2.44
2022 660,116 392,585 41 -33.87
2021 443,310 167,408 62 14.81
2020 267,594 123,339 54 258.82
2019 195,992 263,602 -34 26.09
2018 151,862 221,192 -46
  • Average operating margins: 19.5 %
  • Average operating margins growth rate: 10.9 %
  • Coefficient of variability (lower numbers indicate more stability): 602.2 %

Since both Halozyme Therapeutics's gross margins and operating margins tend to be positive, we know that its business is currently profitable. However, it's important to take into account their variability and overall growth trend to make a definitive conclusion regarding the company's strength.

To get a better idea of Halozyme Therapeutics's finances, we will now look at its cash flows. Often touted as a general yardstick for a company's financial health, cash flows represent the sum of inflows and outflows of cash from all sources, including capital expenditures:

Date Reported Cash Flow from Operations ($ k) Capital expenditures ($ k) Free Cash Flow ($ k) YoY Growth (%)
2023 305,894 13,106 292,788 24.43
2022 240,110 4,810 235,300 -21.04
2021 299,440 1,457 297,983 462.76
2020 55,454 2,504 52,950 159.19
2019 -85,423 4,040 -89,463 -65.17
2018 -49,500 4,663 -54,163
  • Average free cash flow: $292.79 Million
  • Average free cash flow growth rate: 36.3 %
  • Coefficient of variability (lower numbers indicating more stability): 228.5%

Free cash flow represents the money that Halozyme Therapeutics can use to either reinvest in the business or to reward its investors in the form of a dividend. Despite the company's recent cash flows being in the green, investors do not currently receive a dividend.

In conclusion, Halozyme Therapeutics may be unattractive to investors with a low risk tolerance or a long term investment horizon. Stocks such as these may offer strong returns in the short term, but for now the long term potential of the company is not substantiated -- by the numbers, at least.

The above analysis is intended for educational purposes only and was performed on the basis of publicly available data. It is not to be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Any buy, sell, or other recommendations mentioned in the article are direct quotations of consensus recommendations from the analysts covering the stock, and do not represent the opinions of Market Inference or its writers. Past performance, accounting data, and inferences about market position and corporate valuation are not reliable indicators of future price movements. Market Inference does not provide financial advice. Investors should conduct their own review and analysis of any company of interest before making an investment decision.

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