River Road Asset Management LLC Purchases New Stake in BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. $BMRN

River Road Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 906,366 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,865,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in BioMarin Pharmaceutical by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,769 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical by 207.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,023 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $850,000 after purchasing an additional 8,112 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical by 70.2% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 11,817 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $835,000 after purchasing an additional 4,876 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical by 33.0% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,439 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical by 23.5% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 618,835 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $34,017,000 after purchasing an additional 117,617 shares during the period. 98.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Gregory R. Friberg sold 3,281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.85, for a total transaction of $176,681.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 51,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,790,399.30. This trade represents a 5.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BMRN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical from $120.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $69.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.67.

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical stock opened at $54.69 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 5.81 and a quick ratio of 4.20. BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.26 and a 52-week high of $66.28. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.41.

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Profile

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development and commercialization of therapies for rare genetic and metabolic diseases. The company focuses on addressing unmet medical needs by leveraging enzyme replacement therapy, small molecule pharmacological chaperones and gene therapy technologies. Headquartered in Novato, California, BioMarin operates research and development facilities in the United States and Europe.

The company’s commercial portfolio includes several approved therapies targeting inherited disorders.