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

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:RARE) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 3,005 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 231% compared to the average volume of 909 put options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical news, CFO Howard Horn sold 4,683 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.90, for a total transaction of $116,606.70. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 110,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,747,515.80. This trade represents a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Shehnaaz Suliman sold 5,740 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.12, for a total value of $144,188.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 27,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $702,129.12. This trade represents a 17.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 24,002 shares of company stock worth $575,039 in the last ninety days. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aquatic Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 79.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 191,458 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,759,000 after buying an additional 84,559 shares during the last quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,083,000. Aberdeen Group plc increased its position in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 94.3% during the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 973,656 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $29,288,000 after purchasing an additional 472,600 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical during the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,973,000. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 93.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 156,484 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,707,000 after purchasing an additional 75,388 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on RARE shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $84.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Guggenheim reduced 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. HC Wainwright cut their price objective on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Wedbush cut their price objective 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.56.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Stock Performance

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical stock traded up $2.51 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $27.36. The stock had a trading volume of 642,334 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,084,414. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.96. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical has a 1-year low of $18.29 and a 1-year high of $42.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.46 and a beta of 0.37.

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

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.