BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN) Shares Sold by Rice Hall James & Associates LLC

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC reduced its position in shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN - Free Report) by 43.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,791 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 4,536 shares during the period. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC's holdings in BioMarin Pharmaceutical were worth $381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $317,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in 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 worth $40,205,000 after acquiring an additional 502,695 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital acquired a new position in BioMarin Pharmaceutical during the 4th quarter worth approximately $430,000. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in BioMarin Pharmaceutical by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 432,122 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $28,403,000 after acquiring an additional 43,593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EULAV Asset Management grew its holdings in BioMarin Pharmaceutical by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 131,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $9,208,000 after acquiring an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. 98.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Stock Performance

BioMarin Pharmaceutical stock traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $68.25. 2,348,882 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,616,799. The stock has a market cap of $13.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 2.62 and a current ratio of 4.27. BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. has a 52-week low of $60.63 and a 52-week high of $94.85. The firm's 50 day moving average is $64.84 and its 200 day moving average is $71.05.

BioMarin Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:BMRN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The biotechnology company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $747.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $711.05 million. BioMarin Pharmaceutical had a net margin of 14.96% and a return on equity of 10.10%. Analysts predict that BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on BMRN shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical from $109.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical from $93.00 to $84.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $93.81.

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.