Ascendis Pharma A/S's (ASND) "Overweight" Rating Reiterated at Cantor Fitzgerald

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed its “Overweight” rating on Ascendis Pharma with a $300 price target, implying approximately 33% upside from the previous close.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: Ascendis has an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $310.75, with 19 Buy, one Strong Buy, and one Hold rating.
• The company exceeded quarterly revenue expectations with $387.22 million, but its $1.03 EPS missed consensus by $0.68. Recent insider activity was mixed, with an executive selling shares while a director made a purchase.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "overweight" rating reissued by equities research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $300.00 price objective on the biotechnology company's stock. Cantor Fitzgerald's price target suggests a potential upside of 32.98% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. HC Wainwright set a $344.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $275.00 to $273.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $344.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Wedbush reaffirmed 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. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $304.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ascendis Pharma A/S presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $310.75.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Performance

ASND opened at $225.60 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.50 and a beta of 0.35. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $251.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $242.29. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a one year low of $186.05 and a one year 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.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The biotechnology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.68). The business had revenue of $387.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $376.75 million. Ascendis Pharma A/S had a net margin of 70.99% and a return on equity of 32.54%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 3.69 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ascendis Pharma A/S

In related news, SVP Mads Bodenhoff sold 3,000 shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.19, for a total transaction of $810,570.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 3,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $810,570. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jean-Jacques Bienaimé acquired 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $246.33 per share, for a total transaction of $492,660.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 2,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at $714,357. This trade represents a 222.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 40.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ascendis Pharma A/S

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Ascendis Pharma A/S during the second quarter valued at approximately $380,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 3,491.7% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 431 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 1,714.3% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 9,686 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,583,000 after buying an additional 10,286 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Ascendis Pharma A/S during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,863,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 103.4% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 240 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Company Profile

Ascendis Pharma A/S NASDAQ: ASND is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for rare diseases. The company uses its proprietary TransCon technology platform to design long-acting medicines intended to improve the effectiveness, convenience, and tolerability of established treatments.

Ascendis' marketed products include Skytrofa (lonapegsomatropin-tcgd), a long-acting growth hormone approved for the treatment of growth hormone deficiency in children, and Yorvipath (palopegteriparatide), a hormone replacement therapy for adults with hypoparathyroidism.