Palo Alto Investors LP Lowers Stock Holdings in BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. $BMRN

Key Points

• Palo Alto Investors LP has reduced its stake in BioMarin Pharmaceutical by 7.1%, now holding 991,207 shares worth approximately $70 million.
• BioMarin currently has a market cap of $11.19 billion and a stock price that opened at $58.27.
• Several analysts have revised their price targets on BioMarin, with the average consensus target price now at $93.17.

Palo Alto Investors LP cut its stake in shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN - Free Report) by 7.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 991,207 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 76,059 shares during the period. BioMarin Pharmaceutical accounts for about 13.3% of Palo Alto Investors LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Palo Alto Investors LP owned 0.52% of BioMarin Pharmaceutical worth $70,068,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BMRN. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in BioMarin Pharmaceutical during the first quarter valued at approximately $184,475,000. Soleus Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in BioMarin Pharmaceutical during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,822,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in BioMarin Pharmaceutical during the first quarter valued at approximately $59,125,000. Vestal Point Capital LP boosted its position in BioMarin Pharmaceutical by 115.0% during the fourth quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 860,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $56,528,000 after purchasing an additional 460,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its position in BioMarin Pharmaceutical by 461.2% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 271,298 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $17,832,000 after purchasing an additional 222,958 shares during the last quarter. 98.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on BMRN. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on BioMarin Pharmaceutical from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on BioMarin Pharmaceutical from $113.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on BioMarin Pharmaceutical from $101.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Zacks Research lowered BioMarin Pharmaceutical from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial began coverage on BioMarin Pharmaceutical in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BioMarin Pharmaceutical presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $93.43.

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BMRN traded up $1.02 on Friday, hitting $57.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,464,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,675,077. The company has a current ratio of 5.56, a quick ratio of 3.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $58.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.35. BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. has a one year low of $52.93 and a one year high of $86.04.

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.