Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 208,456 Shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:RARE)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:RARE) by 95.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 427,359 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 208,456 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.46% of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical worth $17,979,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 259.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 683 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in the third quarter worth $83,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical during the third quarter worth $93,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,760 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on RARE. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $75.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $48.00 target price (up from $46.00) on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Karah Herdman Parschauer sold 2,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.88, for a total transaction of $128,211.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 54,991 shares in the company, valued at $2,358,014.08. The trade was a 5.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Theodore Alan Huizenga sold 967 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.10, for a total value of $40,710.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 50,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,116,156.50. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 124,643 shares of company stock valued at $5,256,268 in the last 90 days. 5.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Trading Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ RARE opened at $32.14 on Tuesday. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.46 and a 1-year high of $60.37. The company has a 50 day moving average of $40.61 and a 200-day moving average of $45.75. The firm has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.07 and a beta of 0.61.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:RARE) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $164.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $163.23 million. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical had a negative net margin of 101.60% and a negative return on equity of 193.80%. On average, analysts forecast that Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. will post -5.18 earnings per share for the current year.

About Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical

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.