Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) Stock Rating Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised 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. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $327.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $313.21.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ASND opened at $229.23 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $246.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $242.14. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 52-week low of $186.05 and a 52-week high of $282.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a current ratio of 2.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.30 billion, a PE ratio of 17.78 and a beta of 0.38.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 14th. The biotechnology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.68). Ascendis Pharma A/S had a return on equity of 32.54% and a net margin of 70.99%. The firm had revenue of $387.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $376.75 million. Analysts forecast that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ascendis Pharma A/S

In other news, Director Jean-Jacques Bienaimé acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $246.33 per share, for a total transaction of $492,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $714,357. This trade represents a 222.22% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mads Bodenhoff sold 3,000 shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $810,570. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 40.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ascendis Pharma A/S

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Perceptive Advisors LLC increased its stake in 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 last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 181,408 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position 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 worth $56,907,000 after purchasing an additional 178,415 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S during the first quarter valued at $26,837,000. Finally, Cormorant Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S during the fourth quarter valued at $21,324,000.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Company Profile

Ascendis Pharma A/S is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies for rare diseases, particularly in endocrinology. The company uses its proprietary TransCon technology platform to design medicines intended to provide sustained release of therapeutic compounds and potentially improve treatment convenience and patient outcomes.

Ascendis Pharma’s marketed products include Skytrofa (lonapegsomatropin-tcgb), a once-weekly growth hormone treatment for children with growth hormone deficiency, and Yorvipath (palopegteriparatide), a parathyroid hormone replacement therapy for adults with hypoparathyroidism.