Palo Alto Investors LP Makes New $19.92 Million Investment in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. $RARE

Key Points

• Palo Alto Investors LP acquired 596,495 Ultragenyx shares worth approximately $19.9 million, representing about 0.61% of the biopharmaceutical company. Institutional investors collectively own 97.67% of RARE.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $59.44, despite targets ranging from $35 to $103.
• Ultragenyx reported better-than-expected quarterly results, including an adjusted loss of $0.90 per share versus the $1.22 estimate and revenue of $214 million, up 28.5% year over year. Shares recently traded at $25.61, while insiders have sold $207,455 worth of stock over the past three months.

Palo Alto Investors LP acquired a new position in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:RARE - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 596,495 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $19,916,968. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical comprises about 0.0% of Palo Alto Investors LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Palo Alto Investors LP owned about 0.61% of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in the second quarter valued at about $31,040,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in the 2nd quarter worth about $549,000. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new position in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,644,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,347,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical during the 2nd quarter worth about $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.67% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on RARE. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $43.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $96.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in a research note on Monday, August 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical

In related news, EVP Karah Herdman Parschauer sold 1,899 shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.62, for a total value of $46,753.38. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 94,462 shares in the company, valued at $2,325,654.44. This trade represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Corazon (Corsee) D. Sanders sold 2,000 shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.05, for a total value of $50,100.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 21,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $528,429.75. This trade represents a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 8,552 shares of company stock valued at $207,455 over the last three months. 5.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Price Performance

Shares of RARE traded down $0.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $25.61. The stock had a trading volume of 1,612,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,219,532. The firm has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.39 and a beta of 0.35. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.29 and a 52 week high of $39.89. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $28.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.03.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:RARE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.90) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.22) by $0.32. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical had a negative return on equity of 1,024.42% and a negative net margin of 81.79%.The company had revenue of $214.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.08 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($1.17) earnings per share. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical's quarterly revenue was up 28.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical 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.

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