Takeda Pharmaceutical (NYSE:TAK) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. (NYSE:TAK) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $17.38, but opened at $17.86. Takeda Pharmaceutical shares last traded at $18.1150, with a volume of 1,005,861 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on TAK shares. Zacks Research raised Takeda Pharmaceutical from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered Takeda Pharmaceutical from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Takeda Pharmaceutical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Takeda Pharmaceutical presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Takeda Pharmaceutical Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.15. The company has a market cap of $57.91 billion, a PE ratio of 53.19 and a beta of -0.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Takeda Pharmaceutical (NYSE:TAK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $7.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.13 billion. Takeda Pharmaceutical had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 3.80%.Takeda Pharmaceutical has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.009-3.009 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Takeda Pharmaceutical

In other Takeda Pharmaceutical news, CEO Julie So-Young Kim sold 89,090 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.10, for a total transaction of $1,523,439.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 391,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,694,461.90. This trade represents a 18.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Giles Richard Platford sold 31,083 shares of Takeda Pharmaceutical stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.10, for a total transaction of $531,519.30. Following the sale, the insider owned 315,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,400,829.80. This represents a 8.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 444,100 shares of company stock valued at $7,594,110 over the last quarter. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Takeda Pharmaceutical

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Takeda Pharmaceutical by 14.2% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,989,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,358,000 after buying an additional 370,800 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Takeda Pharmaceutical in the 4th quarter valued at $998,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Takeda Pharmaceutical by 20.6% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 1,289,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,878,000 after buying an additional 219,999 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Takeda Pharmaceutical by 19.0% during the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 431,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,993,000 after acquiring an additional 68,844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Takeda Pharmaceutical during the 2nd quarter worth about $351,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.17% of the company’s stock.

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Profile

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (NYSE: TAK) is a Tokyo-based, multinational biopharmaceutical company with roots dating back to 1781. The company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical products for patients worldwide. Takeda is publicly listed and operates as a fully integrated R&D-driven healthcare company focused on delivering specialty medicines and therapies across a range of therapeutic areas.

Takeda’s main business activities encompass discovery and development of prescription medicines, clinical development and regulatory affairs, manufacturing of small molecules and biologics, and global commercial operations.