Renaissance Technologies LLC Acquires 17,000 Shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 435,871 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,000 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in BioMarin Pharmaceutical were worth $28,650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in BioMarin Pharmaceutical during the 4th quarter worth about $234,645,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical by 461.3% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 611,667 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $40,205,000 after acquiring an additional 502,695 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. raised its holdings in BioMarin Pharmaceutical by 77.2% during the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 580,222 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $38,138,000 after acquiring an additional 252,820 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in BioMarin Pharmaceutical by 206.6% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 356,496 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $23,432,000 after purchasing an additional 240,239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tredje AP fonden grew its stake in BioMarin Pharmaceutical by 662.6% in the fourth quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 223,664 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $14,701,000 after purchasing an additional 194,334 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BMRN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on BioMarin Pharmaceutical from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Oppenheimer upgraded BioMarin Pharmaceutical from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $98.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded BioMarin Pharmaceutical from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.00.

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BMRN opened at $56.82 on Friday. BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.93 and a 12-month high of $94.85. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $67.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.62. The firm has a market cap of $10.84 billion, a PE ratio of 25.83, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a quick ratio of 2.62, a current ratio of 5.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

BioMarin Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:BMRN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The biotechnology company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.18. BioMarin Pharmaceutical had a return on equity of 9.91% and a net margin of 14.96%. The business had revenue of $747.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $711.05 million. Equities research analysts predict that BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at BioMarin Pharmaceutical

In other news, CAO Erin Burkhart sold 1,295 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.52, for a total value of $92,618.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 16,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,212,621.60. The trade was a 7.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Company Profile

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc develops and commercializes therapies for people with serious and life-threatening rare diseases and medical conditions. Its commercial products include Vimizim, an enzyme replacement therapy for the treatment of mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) IV type A, a lysosomal storage disorder; Naglazyme, a recombinant form of N-acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfatase for patients with MPS VI; and Kuvan, a proprietary synthetic oral form of 6R-BH4 that is used to treat patients with phenylketonuria (PKU), an inherited metabolic disease.