Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Put Options (NASDAQ:RARE)

Key Points

• Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical saw unusually heavy bearish options activity, with investors buying 10,022 put contracts on Wednesday — about 793% above its average daily put volume.
• The stock fell 2.7% to $34.89, while the company’s latest earnings report missed expectations, posting an EPS loss of $1.84 versus the expected $1.49 loss and revenue of $136 million versus $158.19 million forecast.
• Insiders have recently sold shares, including the CFO and a director, even as analysts remain generally positive; the stock currently carries a Moderate Buy consensus and a $58.41 average price target.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:RARE - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 10,022 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 793% compared to the average daily volume of 1,122 put options.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Trading Down 2.7%

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical stock traded down $0.98 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $34.89. 439,182 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,280,507. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical has a one year low of $18.29 and a one year high of $42.37. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $26.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.48. The company has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a PE ratio of -5.71 and a beta of 0.31.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:RARE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.84) earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $136.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $158.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.57) EPS. The firm's revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical will post -4.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical

In other news, CFO Howard Horn sold 4,683 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.90, for a total value of $116,606.70. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 110,342 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,747,515.80. This represents a 4.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Corazon (Corsee) D. Sanders sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.05, for a total value of $50,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 21,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $528,429.75. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 19,319 shares of company stock valued at $476,837 in the last ninety days. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 149.5% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,919 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical during the second quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 662.9% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,152 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi bought a new stake in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in the 1st quarter worth approximately $318,000. Institutional investors own 97.67% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on RARE. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $84.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $120.00 to $74.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $58.41.

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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