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

Key Points

• Unusually heavy put option trading hit Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, with traders buying 3,005 put contracts on Wednesday — 231% above the normal volume.
• The stock rose 10.1% to $27.36 during the session, even as the company remains unprofitable and recently reported a quarterly EPS miss and revenue below expectations.
• Analyst sentiment is still generally positive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $59.56, though several firms have recently lowered their targets.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:RARE - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 3,005 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 231% compared to the typical volume of 909 put options.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Trading Up 10.1%

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical stock traded up $2.51 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $27.36. The stock had a trading volume of 642,334 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,084,414. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of -4.46 and a beta of 0.37. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical has a 12 month low of $18.29 and a 12 month high of $42.37.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:RARE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $136.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $158.19 million. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical had a negative net margin of 91.03% and a negative return on equity of 1,024.42%. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical's revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.57) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical will post -4.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on RARE shares. HC Wainwright decreased their target price on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Guggenheim decreased their target price on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $52.00 to $43.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $50.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wedbush decreased their target price on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $59.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical news, CFO Howard Horn sold 4,683 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 110,342 shares in the company, valued at $2,747,515.80. This represents a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Karah Herdman Parschauer sold 1,899 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.62, for a total value of $46,753.38. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 94,462 shares of the company's stock, 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,002 shares of company stock valued at $575,039. 5.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RARE. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 1,706.7% in 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 last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 56.2% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,092 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 778.4% in the first 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. Leonteq Securities AG increased its holdings in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 288.5% in the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 1,795 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors own 97.67% of the company's stock.

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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