Legal & General Group Plc Grows Position in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND)

Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Free Report) by 1,577.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,682 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 16,628 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc's holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S were worth $2,433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legato Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 1,921 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 394.0% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 247 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Ascendis Pharma A/S in the third quarter valued at $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 58.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 583 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 415.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 407 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the period.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Performance

ASND traded down $0.22 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $166.36. The stock had a trading volume of 17,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 487,141. The business has a 50-day moving average of $154.21 and a 200-day moving average of $139.47. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a one year low of $111.09 and a one year high of $169.37. The stock has a market cap of $10.14 billion, a PE ratio of -23.43 and a beta of 0.54.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.68) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.32) by $0.64. Equities research analysts forecast that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post -4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ASND shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $168.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ascendis Pharma A/S presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.67.

About Ascendis Pharma A/S

Ascendis Pharma A/S, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing therapies for unmet medical needs. It offers SKYTROFA for treating patients with growth hormone deficiency (GHD). The company is also developing a pipeline of three independent endocrinology rare disease product candidates in clinical development, as well as focuses on advancing oncology therapeutic candidates.