Short Interest in BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN) Rises By 14.9%

Key Points

• Short interest rose 14.9% in April to 10,151,216 shares (about 5.3% of shares sold short) with a short-interest ratio of 6.4 days based on average daily volume.
• Large institutional buying has driven ownership higher — Norges Bank initiated a ~$447.6M stake and multiple funds (Vestal Point, Capital Research, Viking, Dimensional) significantly increased positions, leaving institutions owning roughly 98.71% of the stock.
• Insider selling was reported (two EVPs sold shares in Feb–Mar), and insiders now hold only about 0.85% of the company.

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 10,151,216 shares, an increase of 14.9% from the March 31st total of 8,832,493 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,581,415 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.4 days. Currently, 5.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:BMRN opened at $53.91 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.29. BioMarin Pharmaceutical has a 1-year low of $50.76 and a 1-year high of $66.28. The company has a quick ratio of 3.50, a current ratio of 5.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BMRN. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical from $106.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical in a report on Monday, March 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $90.92.

Insider Activity at BioMarin Pharmaceutical

In other news, EVP Gregory R. Friberg sold 6,326 shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.38, for a total transaction of $381,963.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,268,959.64. This trade represents a 14.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Charles Greg Guyer sold 16,486 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.46, for a total value of $996,743.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 79,953 shares in the company, valued at $4,833,958.38. This represents a 17.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BMRN. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $447,572,000. Vestal Point Capital LP boosted its stake in BioMarin Pharmaceutical by 261.4% in the 4th quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 3,000,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $178,290,000 after purchasing an additional 2,170,000 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in BioMarin Pharmaceutical by 547.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,537,596 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $137,436,000 after purchasing an additional 2,145,717 shares in the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP grew its position in BioMarin Pharmaceutical by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 12,288,611 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $675,505,000 after purchasing an additional 1,488,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in BioMarin Pharmaceutical by 48.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,321,754 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $197,405,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076,568 shares during the period. 98.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Company Profile

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development and commercialization of therapies for rare genetic and metabolic diseases. The company focuses on addressing unmet medical needs by leveraging enzyme replacement therapy, small molecule pharmacological chaperones and gene therapy technologies. Headquartered in Novato, California, BioMarin operates research and development facilities in the United States and Europe.

The company's commercial portfolio includes several approved therapies targeting inherited disorders.

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