Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:RARE) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:RARE) saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 1,460,379 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 30% from the previous session’s volume of 2,086,481 shares.The stock last traded at $24.7430 and had previously closed at $25.38.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RARE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $128.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wedbush reduced their price target on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $52.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $84.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.56.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Trading Up 8.3%

The firm has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.40 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.91.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:RARE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.84) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.49) by ($0.35). The business had revenue of $136.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $158.19 million. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical had a negative return on equity of 1,024.42% and a negative net margin of 91.03%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($1.57) EPS. Research analysts predict that Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. will post -4.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Karah Herdman Parschauer sold 1,899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,325,654.44. This trade represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Corazon (Corsee) D. Sanders sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 8.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 24,002 shares of company stock worth $575,039 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,263,815 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $236,068,000 after acquiring an additional 131,087 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,303,046 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $98,970,000 after acquiring an additional 610,559 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 26.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,461,910 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $56,624,000 after acquiring an additional 516,781 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 1,030.4% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,257,671 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $47,298,000 after acquiring an additional 2,057,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 614.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,167,729 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $65,205,000 after acquiring an additional 1,864,164 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.67% of the company’s stock.

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.