Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. $RARE Stock Position Cut by SG Americas Securities LLC

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities cut its stake in Ultragenyx by 74.3% in Q4, selling 93,225 shares and leaving 32,204 shares valued at about $741,000.
• Company insiders sold 109,556 shares last quarter — including CEO Emil D. Kakkis (54,404 shares, ~$1.24M) and EVP Karah Herdman Parschauer (8,135 shares) — with insiders now owning 5.20% of the stock.
• Several analysts have trimmed targets and ratings (Goldman Sachs downgraded to Neutral with a $25 target), though the consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $60.47; the stock trades near $23.30 with a $2.29B market cap.

SG Americas Securities LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:RARE - Free Report) by 74.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,204 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 93,225 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical were worth $741,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in RARE. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 1,706.7% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,084 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 56.2% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,092 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 205.4% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,738 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,787 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the period. 97.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on RARE. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $65.00 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $61.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $128.00 to $79.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $114.00 to $63.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.47.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Emil D. Kakkis sold 54,404 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.80, for a total value of $1,240,411.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 658,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,025,063.20. This represents a 7.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karah Herdman Parschauer sold 8,135 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.80, for a total transaction of $185,478.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 76,346 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,740,688.80. This represents a 9.63% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 109,556 shares of company stock worth $2,490,138. 5.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ RARE opened at $23.30 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $22.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.99 and a beta of 0.25. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.29) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.20) by ($0.09). Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical had a negative net margin of 85.54% and a negative return on equity of 1,024.42%. The company had revenue of $207.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $199.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($1.39) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 25.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. will post -5.18 earnings per share for the current year.

About Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical

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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