Investors Purchase High Volume of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Call Options (NASDAQ:RARE)

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:RARE) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors acquired 8,880 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 864% compared to the typical volume of 921 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RARE has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays dropped their price target on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Truist Financial upgraded Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. HC Wainwright lowered their price objective on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $120.00 to $74.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $128.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Karah Herdman Parschauer sold 8,135 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.80, for a total value of $185,478.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 76,346 shares in the company, valued at $1,740,688.80. The trade was a 9.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Emil D. Kakkis sold 54,404 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.80, for a total value of $1,240,411.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 658,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,025,063.20. This trade represents a 7.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 111,522 shares of company stock valued at $2,543,214. 5.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of RARE. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 232,360 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,414,000 after purchasing an additional 29,984 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning acquired a new position in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in the 2nd quarter valued at $454,000. American Century Companies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in the 2nd quarter valued at $366,000. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 19.7% in the 2nd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 7,232 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 1,560.4% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 99,161 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,913,000 after purchasing an additional 93,189 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.67% of the company’s stock.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical stock opened at $25.00 on Friday. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical has a 52 week low of $18.29 and a 52 week high of $42.37. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.52. The firm has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a PE ratio of -4.09 and a beta of 0.39.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:RARE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.84) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.49) by ($0.35). Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical had a negative net margin of 91.03% and a negative return on equity of 1,024.42%. The business had revenue of $136.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $158.19 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($1.57) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical will post -4.63 earnings per share for the current year.

About Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for rare and ultra-rare genetic disorders. Since its founding in 2010 and headquarters in Novato, California, the company has built expertise in protein replacement therapies, small molecules and gene therapy approaches to address high-unmet medical needs. Ultragenyx applies a precision medicine model, leveraging both in-house research and strategic collaborations to advance its product pipeline from discovery through regulatory approval.

The company’s commercial portfolio includes Crysvita (burosumab-tmyl) for X-linked hypophosphatemia, Mepsevii (vestronidase alfa-vjbk) for mucopolysaccharidosis VII and Dojolvi (triheptanoin) for long-chain fatty acid oxidation disorders.