Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:RARE) Stock Price

Key Points

• Barclays lowered Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical’s price target from $43 to $32 while maintaining an “overweight” rating, implying substantial upside from the stock’s $14.85 opening price.
• Analyst opinion remains mixed but leans positive: Ultragenyx has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $36.95, despite several firms sharply reducing their targets or downgrading the stock.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with revenue rising 28.5% year over year to $214 million, but it continues to face significant losses, including a negative net margin of 81.79%.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:RARE - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by investment analysts at Barclays from $43.00 to $32.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Barclays's price objective points to a potential upside of 115.49% from the company's current price.

RARE has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $77.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $49.00 to $18.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the company from $50.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.95.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Stock Performance

Shares of RARE stock opened at $14.85 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.54 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $28.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.04. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical has a one year low of $13.81 and a one year high of $39.89.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:RARE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical had a negative net margin of 81.79% and a negative return on equity of 1,024.42%. The firm had revenue of $214.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $183.08 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($1.17) EPS. The firm's revenue was up 28.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical will post -3.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Corsee 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 directly owned 21,095 shares of the company's stock, valued at $528,429.75. This trade represents a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karah Parschauer sold 1,899 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 94,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,325,654.44. This trade represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 5.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in the 2nd quarter valued at about $355,746,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,263,815 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $236,068,000 after acquiring an additional 131,087 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,303,046 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $98,970,000 after purchasing an additional 610,559 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 3,137.6% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,388,117 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $113,129,000 after acquiring an additional 3,283,467 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,461,910 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $56,624,000 after purchasing an additional 516,781 shares in the last quarter. 97.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical

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

• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts still see potential value after the selloff. Jefferies, Citi, TD Cowen, Canaccord, Cantor Fitzgerald and HC Wainwright retained buy or overweight ratings, although they substantially reduced their price targets. Ultragenyx stock downgraded trial setback
• Positive Sentiment: Ultragenyx’s commercial rare-disease portfolio remains an important potential support for the business, and commentary highlighted the possibility that the company could recover if marketed products continue to grow. Ultragenyx Stock Sinks on Drug Trial Failure
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually heavy call-option activity and speculative comments that Ultragenyx could become a takeover target, including by larger rare-disease companies, offered a possible source of near-term support but do not represent confirmed corporate activity.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views became sharply more cautious: Wells Fargo, JPMorgan, Baird, Evercore, William Blair and Bank of America downgraded the stock or moved to more conservative ratings. Revised targets ranged from $16 to $37, indicating significant uncertainty despite implied upside from the recent price.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management is expected to evaluate “significant” cost reductions and reconsider the future of the Angelman syndrome program, which could preserve cash but also reduce research investment. Ultragenyx to weigh significant cost cuts
• Negative Sentiment: The Aspire study failed to achieve both its primary endpoint—change in Bayley-4 cognitive raw score—and key secondary endpoint, the Multidomain Responder Index. The results place apazunersen’s regulatory and commercial prospects in serious doubt. Ultragenyx Announces Phase 3 Aspire Results
• Negative Sentiment: The late-stage failure triggered a broad analyst reset and raised concerns about Ultragenyx’s pipeline concentration, future revenue growth and continued cash burn. Ultragenyx shares crater after Angelman syndrome drug fails

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source