Clearbridge Investments LLC Decreases Stock Position in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:RARE)

Clearbridge Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:RARE) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,322,205 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 104,772 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 2.51% of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical worth $97,695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of RARE. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 131,344 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,526,000 after acquiring an additional 17,225 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 105.7% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 376,161 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $15,900,000 after purchasing an additional 193,296 shares during the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS boosted its holdings in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 12,132 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,889 shares during the last quarter. denkapparat Operations GmbH bought a new stake in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in the 4th quarter worth approximately $207,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 125.5% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,173,638 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $49,375,000 after buying an additional 653,088 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on RARE shares. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective (up previously from $46.00) on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in a report on Monday, January 13th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in a research note on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $104.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $75.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.79.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Stock Performance

Shares of RARE stock opened at $36.21 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of -5.71 and a beta of 0.67. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.53 and a 52-week high of $60.37.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:RARE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.39) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.32) by ($0.07). Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical had a negative return on equity of 193.80% and a negative net margin of 101.60%. The business had revenue of $164.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $163.23 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. will post -5.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Howard Horn sold 1,785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.40, for a total transaction of $72,114.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 106,169 shares in the company, valued at $4,289,227.60. This trade represents a 1.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Emil D. Kakkis sold 73,434 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.10, for a total value of $3,091,571.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 641,731 shares in the company, valued at $27,016,875.10. This represents a 10.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 124,643 shares of company stock worth $5,256,268 over the last quarter. Insiders own 5.80% of the company’s stock.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Profile

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the identification, acquisition, development, and commercialization of novel products for the treatment of rare and ultra-rare genetic diseases in North America, Latin America, Japan, Europe, and internationally. Its biologic products include Crysvita (burosumab), an antibody targeting fibroblast growth factor 23 for the treatment of X-linked hypophosphatemia, as well as tumor-induced osteomalacia; Mepsevii, an enzyme replacement therapy for the treatment of children and adults with Mucopolysaccharidosis VII; Dojolvi for treating long-chain fatty acid oxidation disorders; and Evkeeza (evinacumab) for the treatment of homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia.