Short Interest in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) Increases By 31.3%

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) saw a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 3,802,853 shares, a growth of 31.3% from the January 29th total of 2,896,919 shares. Currently, 10.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 848,679 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.5 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 848,679 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.5 days. Currently, 10.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on ASND. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $246.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $246.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $256.00 price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $342.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ascendis Pharma A/S currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $282.29.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ascendis Pharma A/S

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,441 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 1.0% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,081 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,209,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Certuity LLC grew its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 1,170 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 550 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 0.6% during the second quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,186 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,103,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:ASND opened at $233.50 on Monday. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 52-week low of $124.06 and a 52-week high of $242.00. The stock has a market cap of $14.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -53.07 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $219.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $208.34.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.64) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.58). The company had revenue of $290.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $285.35 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post -4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Company Profile

Ascendis Pharma A/S is a Denmark‐based biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative therapies for rare endocrine diseases. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Hellerup, the company leverages its proprietary TransCon drug delivery platform to create long‐acting prodrugs designed to improve safety, efficacy and patient convenience. Ascendis Pharma maintains research and development operations in Europe and the United States, with clinical studies spanning North America, Europe and Asia.

The company’s lead product, lonapegsomatropin (Skytrofa®), is a once‐weekly growth hormone therapy approved by the U.S.