Fred Alger Management LLC Sells 146,356 Shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND)

Fred Alger Management LLC lessened its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Free Report) by 56.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 111,854 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 146,356 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC owned about 0.18% of Ascendis Pharma A/S worth $15,399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 394.0% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 247 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 415.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 407 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 58.0% in the 4th 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, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 4th quarter valued at about $96,000.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Performance

Shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S stock traded down $8.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $151.25. The company had a trading volume of 598,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 500,431. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.30 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50 day moving average of $156.12 and a 200 day moving average of $141.54. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 52-week low of $111.09 and a 52-week high of $183.00.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($1.66) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.56) by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $123.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.56 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post -4.34 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on ASND shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $200.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised Ascendis Pharma A/S from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $181.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $216.07.

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.