Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) Trading Down 5.6% – Should You Sell?

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND)’s share price dropped 5.6% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $207.62 and last traded at $206.64. Approximately 11,627 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 98% from the average daily volume of 681,383 shares. The stock had previously closed at $218.84.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASND has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $342.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $330.00 to $326.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $332.00 target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $295.39.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $232.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $223.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $13.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.59 and a beta of 0.39.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $285.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $362.47 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 12.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ascendis Pharma A/S

In other Ascendis Pharma A/S news, insider Flemming Steen Jensen sold 19,460 shares of the company’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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime bought 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $237.80 per share, with a total value of $95,120.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,120. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 40.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ascendis Pharma A/S

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Arax Advisory Partners grew its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 212.2% during the 4th quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 153 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 57.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 228 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter.

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.