Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 2,057,951 Shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. $RARE

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:RARE) by 1,030.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,257,671 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,057,951 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical were worth $47,298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 56.2% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,092 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position 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 worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 751 shares during the last quarter. 97.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on RARE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $120.00 to $74.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $52.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $61.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wedbush dropped their price target on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.56.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Corazon (Corsee) D. Sanders sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.05, for a total transaction of $50,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 94,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,325,654.44. This represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 24,002 shares of company stock worth $575,039 over the last quarter. 5.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:RARE opened at $29.25 on Friday. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.29 and a 1-year high of $42.37. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $24.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.79 and a beta of 0.37.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:RARE) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $136.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $158.19 million. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical had a negative return on equity of 1,024.42% and a negative net margin of 91.03%.Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.57) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. will post -4.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical 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.