Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) Raised to Strong-Buy at BMO Capital Markets

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) was upgraded by equities research analysts at BMO Capital Markets to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on ASND. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Monday, May 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $355.00 target price on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $345.00 to $329.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $330.00 to $326.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $300.33.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Performance

Ascendis Pharma A/S stock opened at $259.62 on Tuesday. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a fifty-two week low of $186.05 and a fifty-two week high of $282.15. The company has a market capitalization of $16.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $252.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $237.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a current ratio of 2.99.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The biotechnology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.68). The company had revenue of $387.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $376.75 million. Ascendis Pharma A/S had a net margin of 70.99% and a return on equity of 32.54%. On average, analysts anticipate that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $246.33 per share, for a total transaction of $492,660.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,900 shares in the company, valued at $714,357. This trade represents a 222.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have purchased a total of 2,500 shares of company stock worth $609,680 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 40.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASND. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S during the second quarter valued at about $552,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 4.0% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,441 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 66.2% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,737 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $645,000 after purchasing an additional 1,488 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 83.4% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 201,044 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $34,700,000 after purchasing an additional 91,412 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 2nd quarter valued at about $897,000.

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.