Stock Update: Arrowhead Research Corp (NASDAQ:ARWR) Issues Letter to Shareholders

Arrowhead Research Corp (NASDAQ:ARWR),a biopharmaceutical company developing targeted RNAi therapeutics, today issued an open letter to shareholders from President and CEO, Christopher Anzalone. The full letter can be read here. Taking a look at the company’s recent performance, Arrowhead Research Corp (NASDAQ:ARWR) reported third quarter earnings for fiscal 2014 on August 12th. The company reported actual earnings per share of ($0.22) against the consensus Street estimate of ($0.22). Arrowhead is currently valued at $371.9 million and closed the last trading session at $12.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $14.74 and a 200-day moving average of $13.48.

Is this a Buying Opportunity?There are currently five analysts that we track that cover the stock. Of those five, 1 has a Sell rating and four have a Buy rating. On a consensus basis this yields a score of 2.80 and a Buy. The combined price objective of these covering analysts is $16.72, which represents a 137% difference to the last closing price.The most recent analyst activity consisted of RBC downgrading their Outperform stance on the company to Sector Perform. RBC has a price target of $9.00 which represents an upside of 16.6% from the last closing price. On the date of the report, the stock closed at $3.02. Another research firm weighing in recently was Deutsche Bank . Arrowhead Corp had its price target lowered by analysts at the firm from $45.00 to $20.00. They now have a "buy" rating on the stock.Company ProfileArrowhead Research Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, develops targeted RNAi therapeutics in the United States. The company's product candidate comprise ARC-520, an RNAi-based therapeutic that has completed a Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection; and Adipotide, which is in Phase I clinical trial for the treatment for obesity and related metabolic disorders. Its platform technologies include Dynamic Polyconjugate platform, a RNA delivery system that addresses multiple organ systems and cell types, promotes multi-log gene knockdown, and induces endosomal escape; and Homing Peptides platform, a library of short peptides. The company also develops DPC-enabled RNAi therapeutic, a pre-clinical stage product to treat an undisclosed orphan liver disease. It also has research collaboration and license agreement with Shire AG to develop and commercialize targeted peptide-drug conjugates. The company, formerly known as InterActive Group, Inc., was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Pasadena, California.