Wellington Management Group LLP Reduces Stock Position in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. $RARE

Key Points

• Wellington Management cut its Ultragenyx position by 52.6% in the second quarter, selling 1.39 million shares and retaining 1.25 million shares valued at approximately $41.8 million. Hedge funds and institutional investors still own 97.67% of the company.
• Analysts remain cautiously optimistic, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $37.53, despite several major firms sharply lowering their targets. Ultragenyx shares opened at $14.85, near their 52-week low of $13.81, after falling 44%.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting a loss of $0.90 per share versus the expected $1.22 loss and revenue of $214 million, up 28.5% year over year. However, the failed ASPIRE Angelman syndrome trial has weakened the pipeline outlook and increased pressure for cost reductions and strategic changes.

Wellington Management Group LLP cut its holdings in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:RARE - Free Report) by 52.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,250,464 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 1,390,348 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 1.27% of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical worth $41,753,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 662.9% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,152 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical during the second quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 778.4% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,625 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. 97.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on RARE. Wedbush cut their target price on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim lowered their price target on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $43.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $103.00 to $33.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $77.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.53.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Stock Down 44.0%

RARE opened at $14.85 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $28.07 and a 200 day moving average of $25.04. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.54 and a beta of 0.31. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.81 and a 52-week high of $39.89.

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, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.22) by $0.32. The business had revenue of $214.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.08 million. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical had a negative return on equity of 1,024.42% and a negative net margin of 81.79%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 28.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($1.17) earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. will post -3.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts still see potential value in Ultragenyx’s commercial rare-disease portfolio. Wall Street firms including Jefferies, Citi, TD Cowen, Canaccord Genuity, Cantor Fitzgerald and HC Wainwright retained positive ratings, although they materially reduced their price targets. Ultragenyx Stock Sinks on Drug Trial Failure
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually heavy call-option activity and speculation that Ultragenyx could become a takeover target—potentially for another rare-disease company such as BioMarin—provided limited support for a possible rebound, though neither represents a company-confirmed development. Ultragenyx Could Be M&A Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Management is expected to evaluate “significant” cost reductions and reconsider the future of the Angelman program. Investors will also focus on the company’s existing commercial products and any updated strategic plans. Ultragenyx to Weigh Cost Cuts
• Negative Sentiment: The ASPIRE study failed to meet both its primary endpoint—change in Bayley-4 cognitive raw score—and key secondary endpoint, net response on the Multidomain Responder Index. The results substantially weaken the outlook for apazunersen and remove a major potential source of future revenue. Ultragenyx Announces Phase 3 ASPIRE Results
• Negative Sentiment: The trial failure triggered multiple downgrades and steep price-target cuts. Wells Fargo moved to equal weight, Bank of America cut its rating to neutral, and firms including Baird, JPMorgan, Evercore and others lowered targets, reflecting higher clinical, commercial and valuation risk. Ultragenyx Shares Crater After Trial Failure

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Corsee Sanders sold 2,000 shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.05, for a total transaction of $50,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 21,095 shares in the company, valued at $528,429.75. This trade represents a 8.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karah Parschauer sold 1,899 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.62, for a total transaction of $46,753.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 94,462 shares in the company, valued at $2,325,654.44. This represents a 1.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company 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.

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