Wedbush Has Lowered Expectations for Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:RARE) Stock Price

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:RARE) had its price target lowered by equities researchers at Wedbush from $30.00 to $23.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Wedbush’s price objective indicates a potential downside of 13.31% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings raised Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. William Blair lowered Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $18.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.95.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ RARE opened at $26.53 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.54 and a beta of 0.31. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.08. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical has a 52 week low of $18.29 and a 52 week high of $39.89.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:RARE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.90) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.22) by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $214.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.08 million. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical had a negative net margin of 81.79% and a negative return on equity of 1,024.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($1.17) earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical will post -3.97 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical

In other news, EVP Karah Herdman Parschauer sold 1,899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.62, for a total value of $46,753.38. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 94,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,325,654.44. This trade represents a 1.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Corazon (Corsee) D. Sanders sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.05, for a total transaction of $50,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 21,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $528,429.75. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical during the second quarter worth about $355,746,000. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 3,137.6% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,388,117 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $113,129,000 after acquiring an additional 3,283,467 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 1,030.4% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,257,671 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $47,298,000 after purchasing an additional 2,057,951 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 614.1% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,167,729 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $65,205,000 after purchasing an additional 1,864,164 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in the fourth quarter valued at $29,004,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.67% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical

Here are the key news stories impacting Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ultragenyx reported encouraging 96-week data for GENGLYCOS™ (DTX401) in glycogen storage disease type Ia. Patients achieved an average 61% reduction in daily cornstarch intake while maintaining glycemic control, supporting the commercial and clinical potential of this program. GENGLYCOS trial publication
• Neutral Sentiment: Ultragenyx’s existing commercial business remains a focus for investors as the company evaluates cost reductions and seeks to offset the impact of the failed Angelman program. Analysts continue to recognize longer-term potential in its rare-disease portfolio, although near-term sentiment has deteriorated. Barron’s analysis of Ultragenyx
• Negative Sentiment: The Phase 3 Aspire study of the company’s Angelman syndrome treatment did not achieve its primary endpoint, the change in Bayley-4 cognitive raw score, or its key secondary MDRI endpoint. The failure removes a major anticipated growth driver and raises questions about the value of the program. Ultragenyx Aspire Phase 3 results
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo downgraded Ultragenyx from “overweight” to “equal weight” and set an $18 price target, implying substantial downside from the referenced price. Analyst coverage
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan downgraded the stock to “neutral,” while Robert W. Baird and Evercore moved their ratings to “neutral” or “in-line.” Baird cut its target to $16 from $40, and Evercore also set a $16 target, reinforcing the view that the trial failure materially reduced Ultragenyx’s valuation.

About Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for rare and ultra-rare genetic disorders. Since its founding in 2010 and headquarters in Novato, California, the company has built expertise in protein replacement therapies, small molecules and gene therapy approaches to address high-unmet medical needs. Ultragenyx applies a precision medicine model, leveraging both in-house research and strategic collaborations to advance its product pipeline from discovery through regulatory approval.

The company’s commercial portfolio includes Crysvita (burosumab-tmyl) for X-linked hypophosphatemia, Mepsevii (vestronidase alfa-vjbk) for mucopolysaccharidosis VII and Dojolvi (triheptanoin) for long-chain fatty acid oxidation disorders.