Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:RARE) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical shares saw unusually high trading volume, with 1.46 million shares changing hands, though the stock slipped to about $24.74 from a prior close of $25.38.
• Analyst sentiment is still generally positive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and a $59.56 average price target, but several firms recently cut targets or downgraded the stock.
• The company reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss of $1.84 per share on revenue of $136 million, while insiders recently sold shares and institutional ownership remains very high at 97.67%.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:RARE - Get Free Report) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday . 1,460,379 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 30% from the previous session's volume of 2,086,481 shares.The stock last traded at $24.7430 and had previously closed at $25.38.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on RARE. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $128.00 to $79.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $50.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $61.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Wedbush lowered their price target on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $59.56.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $24.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.02. The stock has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of -4.07 and a beta of 0.37.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:RARE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.84) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.49) by ($0.35). Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical had a negative net margin of 91.03% and a negative return on equity of 1,024.42%. The business had revenue of $136.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $158.19 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.57) EPS. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. will post -4.53 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical

In related news, EVP Karah Herdman Parschauer sold 1,899 shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.62, for a total value of $46,753.38. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 94,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,325,654.44. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Corazon (Corsee) D. Sanders sold 2,000 shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.05, for a total value of $50,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 21,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $528,429.75. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,002 shares of company stock valued at $575,039. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 1,706.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,084 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 56.2% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 778.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG lifted 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 acquiring an additional 1,333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 97.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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