Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) Stock Moved Up to "Buy" by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Ascendis Pharma from “hold” to “buy,” joining a broader analyst consensus of “Buy.” Analysts’ average price target is $313.21, with several firms maintaining buy or outperform ratings.
• ASND opened at $229.23, with a market capitalization of approximately $14.3 billion and a 12-month trading range of $186.05 to $282.15.
• The company exceeded quarterly revenue expectations with $387.22 million but missed earnings estimates, reporting $1.03 per share versus the $1.71 consensus. An insider director also purchased 2,000 shares, while another executive sold 3,000 shares.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on ASND. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $327.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $275.00 to $273.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $333.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 31st. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $328.00 to $326.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $313.21.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Up 2.9%

ASND stock opened at $229.23 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $246.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $242.14. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 12 month low of $186.05 and a 12 month high of $282.15. The company has a market cap of $14.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.78 and a beta of 0.38.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The biotechnology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.68). The company had revenue of $387.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $376.75 million. Ascendis Pharma A/S had a return on equity of 32.54% and a net margin of 70.99%. As a group, analysts forecast that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ascendis Pharma A/S

In other Ascendis Pharma A/S news, Director Jean-Jacques Bienaimé purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $246.33 per share, for a total transaction of $492,660.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 2,900 shares in the company, valued at $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 at the SEC website. Also, SVP Mads Bodenhoff sold 3,000 shares of the firm'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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 3,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $810,570. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 40.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASND. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 52.5% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,581 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 544 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $139,000. Sapient Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 95,721 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $21,808,000 after acquiring an additional 3,559 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $380,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 3,491.7% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 431 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the period.

About Ascendis Pharma A/S

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.

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