Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Ascendis Pharma from “hold” to “buy.” Overall analyst sentiment is “Moderate Buy,” with 19 Buy ratings, two Hold ratings, and an average price target of $305.95.
• Analysts have trimmed several price targets, though the cited firms maintained Buy ratings; targets include $330 from Citigroup and $326 from Stifel Nicolaus.
• In its latest reported quarter, Ascendis posted revenue of $387.22 million, above consensus, but EPS of $1.03 fell short of the $1.71 estimate.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on ASND. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $360.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $328.00 to $326.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of 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. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $269.00 price objective for the company. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $305.95.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:ASND opened at $256.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.92 and a beta of 0.40. 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 stock's 50-day simple moving average is $242.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $239.00. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 52-week low of $188.07 and a 52-week high of $282.15.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 70.99% and a return on equity of 32.54%. The firm had revenue of $387.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $376.75 million. Analysts expect that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 3.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jean-Jacques Bienaimé bought 2,000 shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $246.33 per share, with a total value of $492,660.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 2,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at $714,357. The trade was a 222.22% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Mads Bodenhoff sold 3,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $810,570.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $810,570. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 40.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Perceptive Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 450,000 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 24.8% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 351,146 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $80,318,000 after acquiring an additional 69,673 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 27.0% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 227,013 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $51,602,000 after acquiring an additional 48,275 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 68.9% in the second quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 225,155 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $60,053,000 after acquiring an additional 91,822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orbimed Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 5.8% in the first quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC now owns 181,977 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $41,624,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the period.

About Ascendis Pharma A/S

Ascendis Pharma A/S is a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Denmark that develops medicines for rare diseases, with a focus on endocrinology. Founded in 2006, the company uses its TransCon technology platform to design therapies intended to provide sustained delivery of medicines.

Its commercial products include SKYTROFA (lonapegsomatropin), a once-weekly growth hormone treatment for children with growth hormone deficiency, and YORVIPATH (palopegteriparatide), a treatment for adults with hypoparathyroidism.

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