Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $126.14, but opened at $138.75. Ascendis Pharma A/S shares last traded at $144.08, with a volume of 490,196 shares trading hands.

The biotechnology company reported ($0.68) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.32) by $0.64.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $181.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $200.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $160.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com raised Ascendis Pharma A/S from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $191.57.

Institutional Trading of Ascendis Pharma A/S

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 686 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 1,921 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 394.0% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 247 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 58.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 583 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares in the last quarter.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $131.98 and a 200 day moving average of $132.22. The stock has a market cap of $8.78 billion, a PE ratio of -17.83 and a beta of 0.64.

About Ascendis Pharma A/S

Ascendis Pharma A/S, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing therapies for unmet medical needs. It offers SKYTROFA for treating patients with growth hormone deficiency (GHD). The company is also developing a pipeline of three independent endocrinology rare disease product candidates in clinical development, as well as focuses on advancing oncology therapeutic candidates.