Cantor Fitzgerald Reaffirms Overweight Rating for Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND)

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating restated by analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $300.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s price objective points to a potential upside of 32.98% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ASND. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $275.00 to $273.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $304.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Barclays lowered their target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $345.00 to $329.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $306.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $310.75.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Performance

Shares of ASND opened at $225.60 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $251.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $242.29. The stock 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 has a 1-year low of $186.05 and a 1-year high of $282.15. 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 (NASDAQ:ASND) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The biotechnology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 32.54% and a net margin of 70.99%. Analysts expect that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Mads Bodenhoff sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.19, for a total value of $810,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $810,570. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jean-Jacques Bienaimé purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $246.33 per share, with a total value of $492,660.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 2,900 shares in the company, valued at $714,357. This represents a 222.22% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 40.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ascendis Pharma A/S

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASND. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $380,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 3,491.7% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 431 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 1,714.3% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 9,686 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,583,000 after buying an additional 10,286 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,863,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 103.4% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 240 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter.

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.