Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $345.00 to $329.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 14th. HC Wainwright set a $344.00 price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $304.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $310.75.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Trading Down 2.2%

ASND stock opened at $225.60 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $14.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.50 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 2.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $251.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $242.27. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 52 week low of $186.05 and a 52 week high of $282.15.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The biotechnology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.68). Ascendis Pharma A/S had a return on equity of 32.54% and a net margin of 70.99%.The firm had revenue of $387.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $376.75 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 3.69 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ascendis Pharma A/S

In related news, Director Jean-Jacques Bienaimé purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $246.33 per share, for a total transaction of $492,660.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,900 shares in the company, valued at $714,357. The trade was a 222.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Mads Bodenhoff sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.19, for a total value of $810,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $810,570. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 40.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ascendis Pharma A/S

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASND. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 34.0% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 272 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 103.4% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 240 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 94.9% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 304 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 3,491.7% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 431 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the last quarter.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Company Profile

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for rare diseases. The company uses its proprietary TransCon technology platform to design long-acting medicines intended to improve the effectiveness, convenience, and tolerability of established treatments.

Ascendis’ marketed products include Skytrofa (lonapegsomatropin-tcgd), a long-acting growth hormone approved for the treatment of growth hormone deficiency in children, and Yorvipath (palopegteriparatide), a hormone replacement therapy for adults with hypoparathyroidism.