Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on ASND. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Monday, May 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $355.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen upped their price target on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $325.00 to $341.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ascendis Pharma A/S from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $333.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $329.00 price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $299.24.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ASND opened at $248.50 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $15.50 billion, a PE ratio of 19.28 and a beta of 0.39. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a fifty-two week low of $186.05 and a fifty-two week high of $282.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a current ratio of 2.99. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $249.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $237.26.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The biotechnology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.68). The firm had revenue of $387.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $376.75 million. Ascendis Pharma A/S had a return on equity of 32.54% and a net margin of 70.99%. Equities research analysts predict that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ascendis Pharma A/S

In other news, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime bought 400 shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were purchased 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. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 40.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 57.5% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 43,701 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $9,319,000 after purchasing an additional 15,950 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 23.2% in the first quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 230,278 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $52,671,000 after purchasing an additional 43,338 shares during the last quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 5.8% in the first quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC now owns 181,977 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $41,624,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 57.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 308,190 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $65,718,000 after purchasing an additional 112,986 shares during the period. Finally, Cormorant Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 4th quarter worth approximately $21,324,000.

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.