Ultragenyx plunges 46% on trial failure, multiple downgrades

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Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical plunged more than 46% to an all-time low on Thursday after its Phase 3 Aspire study for apazunersen, an experimental Angelman syndrome therapy, failed to meet the primary endpoint. The Novato, California-based biopharma said it will review future operations, including R&D plans for the drug. In response, RBC Capital Markets downgraded the stock to Sector Perform from Outperform and cut its price target to $19 from $40, while Baird downgraded to Neutral from Outperform, and Bank of America downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a target cut to $20 from $48. Analysts noted the lack of numerical data and suspected the trial was a complete miss, though Ultragenyx's commercial operations provide some valuation floor.

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Phase 3 trial failure for apazunersen missed primary endpoint, causing stock plunge.

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