Altfest L J & Co. Inc. Buys New Position in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND)

Key Points

• Altfest L J & Co. Inc. has acquired a new position in Ascendis Pharma A/S, purchasing 2,111 shares valued at approximately $329,000.
• Several institutional investors have recently adjusted their stakes in Ascendis Pharma, with notable increases from PNC Financial Services Group and GF Fund Management CO. LTD.
• Brokerage firms have set new price targets for Ascendis Pharma, with Evercore ISI and Citigroup raising their targets to $280.00 and $243.00 respectively, indicating a generally positive outlook.

Altfest L J & Co. Inc. bought a new position in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,111 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $329,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the fourth quarter valued at $96,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 195.3% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,004 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $138,000 after buying an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the fourth quarter valued at $174,000. Finally, Dearborn Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the first quarter valued at $203,000.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Trading Down 1.1%

NASDAQ ASND traded down $2.17 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $193.81. 254,691 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 493,638. The stock has a market cap of $11.85 billion, a PE ratio of -37.61 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $174.44 and a 200-day moving average of $159.76. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a one year low of $111.09 and a one year high of $199.99.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.93) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.42) by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $216.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $163.17 million. As a group, 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 brokerages have commented on ASND. Bank of America boosted their target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $201.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Ascendis Pharma A/S from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $200.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Wedbush increased their target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $295.00 target price (up from $289.00) on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Friday. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $239.80.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Company Profile

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.