Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:RARE) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Ultragenyx to $67 (from $50) and keeps an "overweight" rating, implying roughly a 169.6% upside from the current share price.
• Analysts overall give the stock a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $61.18, though individual targets and ratings vary significantly across firms.
• Ultragenyx trades near $24.85 with negative earnings (a large EPS loss and -85.54% net margin) despite 25.5% revenue growth YoY; insiders have sold ~109,556 shares in the past 90 days while institutions own about 97.7% of the stock.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:RARE - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $50.00 to $67.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target indicates a potential upside of 169.63% from the stock's current price.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $65.00 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $114.00 to $63.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $72.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.18.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Price Performance

NASDAQ:RARE traded down $0.33 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $24.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 555,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,336,378. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical has a 1 year low of $18.29 and a 1 year high of $42.37. The stock has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.25 and a beta of 0.25. The business's fifty day moving average is $22.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.48.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:RARE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.29) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.20) by ($0.09). Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical had a negative net margin of 85.54% and a negative return on equity of 1,024.42%. The business had revenue of $207.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $199.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($1.39) earnings per share. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical's revenue for the quarter was up 25.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical will post -5.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical

In other news, CEO Emil D. Kakkis sold 54,404 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.80, for a total value of $1,240,411.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 658,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,025,063.20. This represents a 7.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Howard Horn sold 4,683 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.97, for a total transaction of $98,202.51. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 80,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,684,960.47. This trade represents a 5.51% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 109,556 shares of company stock worth $2,490,138 in the last 90 days. 5.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,263,815 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $236,068,000 after buying an additional 131,087 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,303,046 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $98,970,000 after purchasing an additional 610,559 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 26.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,461,910 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $56,624,000 after purchasing an additional 516,781 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 614.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,167,729 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $65,205,000 after purchasing an additional 1,864,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,838,208 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $42,287,000 after purchasing an additional 257,701 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.67% 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.

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