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

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:RARE) by 95.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 427,359 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 208,456 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical were worth $17,979,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 259.5% during the fourth 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 period. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical during the third quarter worth about $83,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical during the 3rd quarter worth about $93,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,760 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.67% of the company’s stock.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Price Performance

Shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical stock opened at $32.14 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.07 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $40.61 and its 200-day moving average is $45.75. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. has a one year low of $30.46 and a one year high of $60.37.

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

Insider Transactions at Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical

In other Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical news, CAO Theodore Alan Huizenga sold 967 shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.10, for a total value of $40,710.70. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 50,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,116,156.50. The trade was a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Howard Horn sold 1,785 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 106,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,289,227.60. This represents a 1.65 % 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 valued at $5,256,268 over the last 90 days. 5.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on RARE shares. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $140.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in a report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $104.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 target price (up from $46.00) on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in a report on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.79.

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.