Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:RARE)

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:RARE) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders purchased 16,470 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 855% compared to the average volume of 1,724 put options.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Stock Performance

NASDAQ:RARE opened at $27.02 on Friday. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical has a 52 week low of $18.29 and a 52 week high of $39.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $27.41 and its 200-day moving average is $24.63. The firm has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.42 and a beta of 0.31.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:RARE) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 1,024.42% and a negative net margin of 91.03%.The business had revenue of $136.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $158.19 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($1.57) earnings per share. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical will post -4.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical news, EVP Karah Herdman Parschauer sold 1,899 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.62, for a total transaction of $46,753.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 94,462 shares in the company, valued at $2,325,654.44. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Corazon (Corsee) D. Sanders sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.05, for a total value of $50,100.00. Following the sale, the director owned 21,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $528,429.75. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,319 shares of company stock valued at $476,837. 5.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 26,932 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $817,000 after buying an additional 534 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,650 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 4.7% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 12,591 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 564 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 157,061 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,612,000 after acquiring an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 43.2% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,489 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 751 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on RARE shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $84.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $50.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $52.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wedbush cut their target price on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.41.

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.