Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. Takes $978,000 Position in Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 4,276 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $978,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ASND. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Arax Advisory Partners lifted its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 212.2% in the fourth quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 153 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 111.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 214 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of ASND opened at $261.00 on Friday. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $242.89 and a 200 day moving average of $232.02. The company has a market cap of $16.28 billion, a PE ratio of 30.10 and a beta of 0.37. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 52-week low of $160.86 and a 52-week high of $282.15.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $362.47 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 4.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ascendis Pharma A/S

In related news, insider Flemming Steen Jensen sold 19,460 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.49, for a total transaction of $4,641,015.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime acquired 400 shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $237.80 per share, for a total transaction of $95,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 400 shares in the company, valued at $95,120. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 40.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASND has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup began coverage on Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Monday, May 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $355.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $262.00 to $292.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $329.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $295.67.

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.