Verition Fund Management LLC Trims Position in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:RARE)

Verition Fund Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:RARE) by 43.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 77,306 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 60,125 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical were worth $4,294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in the second quarter worth $33,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 58.1% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 958 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the period. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in the third quarter worth $56,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in the third quarter worth $107,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in the third quarter worth $119,000. 97.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical

In other Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical news, CFO Howard Horn sold 7,465 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.76, for a total value of $393,853.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 92,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,869,800.76. This represents a 7.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 5.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RARE opened at $46.67 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.21 and a beta of 0.56. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.02 and a 1 year high of $60.37. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $51.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.79.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:RARE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.45) by $0.05. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical had a negative return on equity of 187.12% and a negative net margin of 106.93%. The firm had revenue of $139.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.28 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($2.23) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 42.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. will post -6.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $77.00 price target on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $61.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $116.00 target price on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.46.

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.