Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. $RARE Stock: Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Grows Stake

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:RARE) by 44.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,339,814 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 410,188 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical were worth $20,137,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in RARE. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 662.9% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,152 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical during the second quarter worth approximately $48,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical during the second quarter worth approximately $52,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical by 778.4% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,625 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the period. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in the second quarter worth approximately $62,000. 97.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Price Performance

RARE stock opened at $16.70 on Thursday. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. has a 12 month low of $12.73 and a 12 month high of $39.89. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.60.

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:RARE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.10) by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $173.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $182.49 million. The business’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.81) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. will post -3.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on RARE. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Wedbush cut their price objective on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.79.

Insider Activity at Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical

In other news, CFO Howard Horn sold 7,066 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.27, for a total transaction of $107,897.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 89,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,362,526.83. This trade represents a 7.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 8,510 shares of company stock worth $127,561. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing treatments for rare and ultra-rare genetic diseases. Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Novato, California, the company works on therapies for conditions with limited treatment options, including enzyme deficiencies and metabolic disorders. Its marketed products include Crysvita (burosumab), used to treat certain forms of X-linked hypophosphatemia and tumor-induced osteomalacia; Mepsevii (vestronidase alfa), for mucopolysaccharidosis VII; and Dojolvi (triheptanoin), for long-chain fatty acid oxidation disorders.