J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Reduces Holdings in BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN)

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG reduced its stake in BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. by 41.8% in the first quarter, now holding 32,305 shares valued at approximately $2.28 million.
• Other institutional investors have varied their stakes, including R Squared Ltd, which increased its holdings by 201.6%, highlighting significant investor interest in BioMarin.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for BioMarin, with target prices ranging from $78.00 to $113.00, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG trimmed its holdings in shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN - Free Report) by 41.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,305 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 23,167 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in BioMarin Pharmaceutical were worth $2,284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dodge & Cox grew its holdings in BioMarin Pharmaceutical by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 14,746,235 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $969,270,000 after purchasing an additional 847,917 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in BioMarin Pharmaceutical by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 12,991,772 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $853,944,000 after purchasing an additional 2,496,817 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in BioMarin Pharmaceutical by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,288,778 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $215,784,000 after purchasing an additional 28,728 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,725,039 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $113,387,000 after buying an additional 240,681 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical by 114.5% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,283,599 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $84,371,000 after buying an additional 685,099 shares during the last quarter. 98.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at BioMarin Pharmaceutical

In related news, CAO Erin Burkhart sold 1,786 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.31, for a total transaction of $105,927.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 14,173 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $840,600.63. This represents a 11.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BMRN shares. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $94.00 price objective on shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BioMarin Pharmaceutical presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $93.78.

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Price Performance

Shares of BMRN traded up $3.37 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $63.68. 2,447,324 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,892,643. BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. has a 1-year low of $52.93 and a 1-year high of $94.85. The stock has a market cap of $12.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 3.49 and a current ratio of 5.52. The company has a 50 day moving average of $57.16 and a 200-day moving average of $61.79.

About BioMarin Pharmaceutical

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc develops and commercializes therapies for people with serious and life-threatening rare diseases and medical conditions. Its commercial products include Vimizim, an enzyme replacement therapy for the treatment of mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) IV type A, a lysosomal storage disorder; Naglazyme, a recombinant form of N-acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfatase for patients with MPS VI; and Kuvan, a proprietary synthetic oral form of 6R-BH4 that is used to treat patients with phenylketonuria (PKU), an inherited metabolic disease.