Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $272.54 and last traded at $269.8940, with a volume of 17050 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $267.79.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $329.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $332.00 target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $330.00 to $326.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup started coverage on Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Monday, May 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $355.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $273.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $295.39.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Trading Down 0.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $16.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.81 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $233.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $227.13.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $285.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $362.47 million. Equities analysts expect that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Flemming Steen Jensen sold 19,460 shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.49, for a total value of $4,641,015.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime bought 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $237.80 per share, with a total value of $95,120.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,120. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 40.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ascendis Pharma A/S

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 2.6% during the third quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,110,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,015,919,000 after purchasing an additional 130,000 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,060,616 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $608,481,000 after buying an additional 13,685 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 95.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,798,931 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $357,645,000 after buying an additional 880,836 shares during the last quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 41.6% during the 1st quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 1,531,421 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $350,282,000 after buying an additional 450,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,026,407 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $218,871,000 after buying an additional 232,730 shares during the period.

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.