Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC Takes $3.31 Million Position in Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND

Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 15,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,305,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. HighVista Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 138.1% in the third quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC now owns 7,082 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,408,000 after purchasing an additional 4,108 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 2.6% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 544,606 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $108,274,000 after purchasing an additional 13,797 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 2,722.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 793,677 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $157,791,000 after purchasing an additional 765,561 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new position in Ascendis Pharma A/S in the third quarter worth about $15,693,000. Finally, Avoro Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 2.6% in the third quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,110,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,015,919,000 after purchasing an additional 130,000 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Flemming Steen Jensen sold 19,460 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.49, for a total transaction of $4,641,015.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime acquired 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $237.80 per share, for a total transaction of $95,120.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,120. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 40.00% of the company’s stock.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Performance

ASND opened at $224.11 on Friday. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 52-week low of $158.16 and a 52-week high of $250.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $13.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.85 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $233.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $223.08.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $285.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $362.47 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 11.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on ASND shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $332.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $262.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Monday, May 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $355.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $295.39.

About Ascendis Pharma A/S

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.