Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) Short Interest Up 7.5% in April

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,600,000 shares, a growth of 7.5% from the March 31st total of 3,350,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 348,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 10.3 days.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of ASND traded down $1.97 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $138.18. 150,224 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 362,873. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $126.77. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 52-week low of $76.02 and a 52-week high of $161.00.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.66) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.15) by $0.49. The company had revenue of $148.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $97.02 million. Ascendis Pharma A/S had a negative net margin of 180.61% and a negative return on equity of 16,574.15%. On average, equities analysts expect that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post -4.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ascendis Pharma A/S

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 9.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 672,126 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $62,938,000 after buying an additional 57,413 shares during the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the third quarter worth approximately $1,810,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 24.7% during the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 38,900 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,643,000 after purchasing an additional 7,700 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the fourth quarter worth $732,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 30.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 159,434 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $14,929,000 after buying an additional 37,363 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ASND shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $165.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $116.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $196.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $173.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $207.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ascendis Pharma A/S has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.25.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Company Profile

Ascendis Pharma A/S, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing therapies for unmet medical needs. It offers SKYTROFA for treating patients with growth hormone deficiency (GHD). The company is also developing a pipeline of three independent endocrinology rare disease product candidates in clinical development, as well as focuses on advancing oncology therapeutic candidates.