Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND Shares Acquired by UBS Group AG

Key Points

• UBS increased its stake in Ascendis Pharma by 57.9% in Q4, buying 112,986 shares to hold 308,190 shares (about 0.50% of the company) valued at $65.72 million.
• Analysts are mostly bullish—one Strong Buy, 17 Buys and one Sell—giving Ascendis an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $291.56.
• Shares are trading higher and the company has a market cap of $14.27 billion; recent results showed an EPS miss of ($0.64) vs. ($0.06) expected while revenue slightly beat at $290.38 million.

UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Free Report) by 57.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 308,190 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 112,986 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned about 0.50% of Ascendis Pharma A/S worth $65,718,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,441 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 1.0% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,081 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,209,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 550 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 57.2% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 228 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,518 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $537,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASND has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $342.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $322.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Monday, March 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $290.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $291.56.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:ASND opened at $228.71 on Tuesday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $231.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $218.40. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 52 week low of $150.89 and a 52 week high of $250.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -51.98 and a beta of 0.41.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.64) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.58). The business had revenue of $290.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $285.35 million. Analysts predict that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 4.13 EPS for the current year.

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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