Renaissance Technologies LLC Purchases Shares of 117,332 Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND

Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 117,332 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,837,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.19% of Ascendis Pharma A/S at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,441 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Certuity LLC raised its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 1,170 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 4.4% during the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 550 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,518 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $537,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Trading Down 0.9%

ASND opened at $252.05 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.07 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $244.94 and its 200-day moving average is $234.50. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 52-week low of $163.88 and a 52-week high of $282.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $285.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $362.47 million. Analysts expect that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ascendis Pharma A/S news, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime bought 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $237.80 per share, for a total transaction of $95,120.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly 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 the SEC website. Also, insider Flemming Steen Jensen sold 19,460 shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.49, for a total value of $4,641,015.40. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 40.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ASND shares. 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. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $329.00 price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $273.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Monday, May 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $355.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ascendis Pharma A/S currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $296.72.

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.