Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:RARE)

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:RARE) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors bought 22,568 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 708% compared to the typical volume of 2,792 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical

In related news, EVP Karah Herdman Parschauer sold 1,899 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.62, for a total value of $46,753.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 94,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,325,654.44. This represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Corazon (Corsee) D. Sanders sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.05, for a total value of $50,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 21,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $528,429.75. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 778.4% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,625 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,440 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG raised its position in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 288.5% during the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 1,795 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,333 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 662.9% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,152 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 573.0% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,167 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,845 shares during the period. 97.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts still see substantial long-term upside. TD Cowen, Canaccord Genuity and HC Wainwright maintained buy ratings with price targets of $18, $37 and $25, respectively, while Cantor Fitzgerald kept an overweight rating with a $33 target. These views reflect confidence in Ultragenyx’s commercial portfolio and other pipeline programs. Barron’s article
• Positive Sentiment: Ultragenyx recently reported encouraging 96-week data for GENGLYCOS, also known as DTX401, in glycogen storage disease type Ia. Patients achieved an average 61% reduction in daily cornstarch intake while maintaining glycemic control, supporting the potential of the company’s gene-therapy business. GENGLYCOS trial publication
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinion remains divided following the trial setback. JPMorgan, Baird, Wells Fargo, Evercore, Wedbush, Bank of America and William Blair moved to neutral, equal-weight or market-perform views. Although revised targets range from $16 to $36, most firms significantly reduced their estimates.
• Negative Sentiment: The Aspire study failed to achieve the change-from-baseline Bayley-4 cognitive score primary endpoint and the Multidomain Responder Index secondary endpoint, undermining expectations for approval and commercialization of the Angelman syndrome drug. Reuters trial failure report
• Negative Sentiment: Ultragenyx is considering cost reductions after the failure, while investors reassess the company’s growth outlook. Trading volume was exceptionally heavy and the stock approached its 52-week low, reflecting elevated concern about pipeline concentration and valuation.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Stock Down 45.1%

RARE stock traded down $11.96 during trading on Thursday, reaching $14.57. The stock had a trading volume of 17,370,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,331,746. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical has a one year low of $13.81 and a one year high of $39.89. The company’s 50 day moving average is $28.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.08. The company has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.50 and a beta of 0.31.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:RARE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.90) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.22) by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $214.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.08 million. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical had a negative return on equity of 1,024.42% and a negative net margin of 81.79%.The company’s revenue was up 28.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($1.17) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical will post -3.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RARE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wedbush lowered their price objective on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $50.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, HC Wainwright lowered their price objective on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $50.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.37.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Company Profile

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.