BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give BioMarin a "Moderate Buy": 23 brokerages cover BMRN (16 buys, 6 holds, 1 strong buy) with an average 12‑month price target of $91.48, versus the recent share price around $54.06.
• Major institutional demand: Hedge funds and institutions own about 98.71% of the stock, with large new or expanded positions from Norges Bank, Vestal Point, Capital Research, Viking Global and Dimensional Fund Advisors.
• Insiders trimming positions: Two executive VPs sold shares in recent filings (reducing holdings by ~17% and ~14%), and company insiders now own roughly 0.85% of shares.

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-three brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $91.4783.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BMRN shares. Barclays raised their price target on BioMarin Pharmaceutical from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Guggenheim dropped their price target on BioMarin Pharmaceutical from $106.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating on shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical in a research note on Monday, March 16th. HC Wainwright dropped their price target on BioMarin Pharmaceutical from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded BioMarin Pharmaceutical from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Friday.

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Stock Performance

BMRN stock opened at $54.06 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $10.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.23. BioMarin Pharmaceutical has a 1 year low of $50.76 and a 1 year high of $66.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 5.21 and a quick ratio of 3.50. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $56.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Charles Greg Guyer sold 16,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.46, for a total value of $996,743.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 79,953 shares in the company, valued at $4,833,958.38. This trade represents a 17.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Gregory R. Friberg sold 6,326 shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.38, for a total value of $381,963.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 37,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,268,959.64. This trade represents a 14.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BioMarin Pharmaceutical

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BMRN. Norges Bank purchased a new position in BioMarin Pharmaceutical during the fourth quarter valued at $447,572,000. Vestal Point Capital LP lifted its position in BioMarin Pharmaceutical by 261.4% during the fourth quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 3,000,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $178,290,000 after purchasing an additional 2,170,000 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in BioMarin Pharmaceutical by 547.5% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,537,596 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $137,436,000 after purchasing an additional 2,145,717 shares in the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP lifted its position in BioMarin Pharmaceutical by 13.8% during the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 12,288,611 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $675,505,000 after purchasing an additional 1,488,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in BioMarin Pharmaceutical by 48.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,321,754 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $197,405,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076,568 shares in the last quarter. 98.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About BioMarin Pharmaceutical

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development and commercialization of therapies for rare genetic and metabolic diseases. The company focuses on addressing unmet medical needs by leveraging enzyme replacement therapy, small molecule pharmacological chaperones and gene therapy technologies. Headquartered in Novato, California, BioMarin operates research and development facilities in the United States and Europe.

The company's commercial portfolio includes several approved therapies targeting inherited disorders.

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