Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Buy" Rating

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Ascendis Pharma from “hold” to “buy,” adding to a generally positive analyst backdrop for the stock.
• Other analysts remain mostly constructive, with firms like Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, RBC, and Jefferies issuing buy/overweight/outperform ratings and a consensus target price of $291.33.
• The stock was down 3.0% in Friday trading, while the company recently reported EPS below expectations but revenue slightly above estimates in its latest quarterly results.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on ASND. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $330.00 to $326.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $255.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Monday, March 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $290.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $291.33.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Down 3.0%

ASND opened at $238.66 on Friday. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 52-week low of $150.89 and a 52-week high of $250.74. The company has a market cap of $14.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.53 and a beta of 0.41. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $231.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $218.99.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.64) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.58). The firm had revenue of $290.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $285.35 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 4.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ascendis Pharma A/S

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Arax Advisory Partners grew its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 212.2% during the 4th quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 153 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 57.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 228 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing 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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