Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the nineteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $295.3889.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ASND. Barclays boosted their price objective on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $342.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $329.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $256.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $330.00 to $326.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th.

Insider Activity at Ascendis Pharma A/S

In related news, insider Flemming Steen Jensen sold 19,460 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.49, for a total transaction of $4,641,015.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime bought 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 $95,120. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 40.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ascendis Pharma A/S

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 2.6% during 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. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 0.4% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,060,616 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $608,481,000 after purchasing an additional 13,685 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 95.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,798,931 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $357,645,000 after purchasing an additional 880,836 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,026,407 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $218,871,000 after purchasing an additional 232,730 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perceptive Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S during the second quarter worth approximately $166,367,000.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Up 0.9%

NASDAQ:ASND opened at $237.47 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $233.59 and a 200-day moving average of $223.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.81 billion, a PE ratio of 27.39 and a beta of 0.41. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 52 week low of $158.16 and a 52 week high of $250.74.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $285.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $362.47 million. Analysts predict that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 11.73 EPS for the current 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.