Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) Given "Outperform" Rating at Wedbush

Key Points

• Wedbush reissued an "Outperform" rating on Ascendis Pharma (NASDAQ:ASND) with a $273 price target, implying about a 14.3% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst views are mixed but generally positive—several firms raised targets (e.g., Oppenheimer $262, Stifel $332, Wells Fargo $330, Cantor Fitzgerald $300) while Weiss Ratings kept a sell; the consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $289.89.
• Ascendis missed on EPS in its latest quarter (reported $(0.64) vs. $(0.06) expected) though revenue slightly beat, and the stock trades around $238.87 with a market cap of $14.89B and a negative P/E of -54.24.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reissued by investment analysts at Wedbush in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $273.00 price objective on the biotechnology company's stock. Wedbush's price objective suggests a potential upside of 14.29% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms have also commented on ASND. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $246.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $332.00 price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $322.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $289.89.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Price Performance

ASND stock opened at $238.87 on Thursday. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 12 month low of $132.52 and a 12 month high of $248.60. The firm has a market cap of $14.89 billion, a PE ratio of -54.24 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $226.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $214.50.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.64) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.58). The company had revenue of $290.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $285.35 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post -4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASND. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Arax Advisory Partners increased its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 212.2% in the 4th quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 153 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 57.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 228 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Company Profile

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.

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