Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Decreases Position in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. $RARE

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management cut its Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical stake by 51% in the first quarter, selling 627,760 shares and leaving it with 603,571 shares worth about $11.67 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mostly positive, with several firms keeping overweight/buy ratings and the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus; the average price target is $59.56.
• Ultragenyx reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss of $1.84 per share on revenue of $136 million, while insiders also sold shares and the stock was recently trading at $33.47.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA trimmed its holdings in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:RARE - Free Report) by 51.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 603,571 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 627,760 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.61% of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical worth $11,671,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of RARE. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 56.2% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,092 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 43.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,489 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 751 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 26.1% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,650 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the period. 97.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RARE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $84.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $50.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. 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. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $59.56.

Insider Activity at Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical

In related news, Director Shehnaaz Suliman sold 5,740 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.12, for a total value of $144,188.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 27,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at $702,129.12. This represents a 17.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Howard Horn sold 4,683 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.90, for a total transaction of $116,606.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 110,342 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,747,515.80. This trade represents a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 19,319 shares of company stock worth $476,837 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Stock Up 3.4%

Shares of RARE stock opened at $33.47 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.48 and a beta of 0.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $25.50 and a 200 day moving average of $24.49. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.29 and a 52 week high of $42.37.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:RARE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.84) 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 company had revenue of $136.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $158.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($1.57) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. will post -4.53 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

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