Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Has $687.89 Million Stock Position in Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership trimmed its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Free Report) by 13.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,225,885 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 494,995 shares during the quarter. Ascendis Pharma A/S makes up approximately 1.0% of Artisan Partners Limited Partnership's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned approximately 5.20% of Ascendis Pharma A/S worth $687,888,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 106.3% in the fourth quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 352,109 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $75,084,000 after purchasing an additional 181,408 shares in the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 235.3% in the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 82,888 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $17,675,000 after purchasing an additional 58,165 shares in the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the fourth quarter worth approximately $228,000. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,582,000. Finally, Mariner LLC lifted its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $548,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASND has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $262.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Monday, May 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $355.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Monday, March 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $290.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised 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 research report on Monday, March 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ascendis Pharma A/S presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $295.39.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of ASND stock opened at $231.20 on Wednesday. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 12 month low of $160.86 and a 12 month high of $250.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The business's 50 day moving average is $232.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $223.94. The company has a market cap of $14.42 billion, a PE ratio of 26.67 and a beta of 0.39.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $285.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $362.47 million. Equities analysts predict that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 14.25 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ascendis Pharma A/S

In related news, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime acquired 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $237.80 per share, for a total transaction of $95,120.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,120. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Flemming Steen Jensen sold 19,460 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.49, for a total transaction of $4,641,015.40. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 40.00% of the company's stock.

Ascendis Pharma A/S 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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