Ascendis Pharma A/S’s (ASND) “Overweight” Rating Reaffirmed at Cantor Fitzgerald

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reiterated by equities researchers at Cantor Fitzgerald in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $300.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s price objective points to a potential upside of 32.98% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. HC Wainwright set a $344.00 price target on Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Thursday, September 10th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $344.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $328.00 to $326.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $310.75.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Price Performance

Ascendis Pharma A/S stock opened at $225.60 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 1-year low of $186.05 and a 1-year high of $282.15. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $251.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $242.29. The company has a market capitalization of $14.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.50 and a beta of 0.35.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The biotechnology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.68). The firm had revenue of $387.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $376.75 million. Ascendis Pharma A/S had a net margin of 70.99% and a return on equity of 32.54%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Mads Bodenhoff sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.19, for a total transaction of $810,570.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $810,570. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jean-Jacques Bienaimé acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $246.33 per share, for a total transaction of $492,660.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 2,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $714,357. The trade was a 222.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 40.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ascendis Pharma A/S

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Perceptive Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 41.6% in the 1st quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 1,531,421 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $350,282,000 after acquiring an additional 450,000 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC raised its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 106.3% in the fourth quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 352,109 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $75,084,000 after acquiring an additional 181,408 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 243.0% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 251,833 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $56,907,000 after acquiring an additional 178,415 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 1st quarter worth $26,837,000. Finally, Cormorant Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 4th quarter worth $21,324,000.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Company Profile

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for rare diseases. The company uses its proprietary TransCon technology platform to design long-acting medicines intended to improve the effectiveness, convenience, and tolerability of established treatments.

Ascendis’ marketed products include Skytrofa (lonapegsomatropin-tcgd), a long-acting growth hormone approved for the treatment of growth hormone deficiency in children, and Yorvipath (palopegteriparatide), a hormone replacement therapy for adults with hypoparathyroidism.