Norges Bank Takes Position in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. $RARE

Key Points

• Norges Bank initiated a new position in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, buying 1.26 million shares worth about $29 million and ending up with roughly 1.31% of the company.
• The company reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss, posting EPS of ($1.84) versus estimates of ($1.49), while revenue of $136 million also missed expectations.
• Despite recent volatility, institutional ownership remains high at 97.67%, but insiders have recently sold shares and analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $59.56.

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:RARE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,261,026 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $29,004,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.31% of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $331,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,838,208 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $42,287,000 after acquiring an additional 257,701 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 198,696 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,570,000 after buying an additional 30,612 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 411,273 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $9,459,000 after buying an additional 8,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new position in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,411,000. Institutional investors own 97.67% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $120.00 to $74.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $52.00 to $43.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $61.00 to $25.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Wedbush cut their price target on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $59.56.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Trading Up 5.6%

NASDAQ RARE opened at $22.79 on Wednesday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $23.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.27. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.29 and a 12-month high of $42.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.73 and a beta of 0.37.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:RARE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.84) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.49) by ($0.35). Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical had a negative return on equity of 1,024.42% and a negative net margin of 91.03%.The firm had revenue of $136.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $158.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.57) earnings per share. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. will post -4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Howard Horn sold 4,653 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.77, for a total transaction of $110,601.81. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 105,689 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,512,227.53. The trade was a 4.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Shehnaaz Suliman sold 5,740 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.12, for a total transaction of $144,188.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 27,951 shares in the company, valued at $702,129.12. This trade represents a 17.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 20,103 shares of company stock worth $478,186 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 5.20% 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.

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.