Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND Shares Bought by Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P.

Key Points

• Frazier Life Sciences Management increased its Ascendis Pharma stake by 68.9% in the second quarter, purchasing 91,822 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 225,155 shares valued at approximately $60.1 million.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish: analysts assign Ascendis Pharma a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $310.05, despite recent target reductions from Barclays and Morgan Stanley.
• Ascendis reported quarterly revenue of $387.2 million, exceeding estimates, but adjusted earnings of $1.03 per share fell short of the $1.71 consensus forecast. Director Jean-Jacques Bienaimé also purchased $492,660 worth of shares, while insiders collectively own 40% of the company.

Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Free Report) by 68.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 225,155 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 91,822 shares during the period. Ascendis Pharma A/S comprises about 1.3% of Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. owned 0.36% of Ascendis Pharma A/S worth $60,053,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ASND. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Arax Advisory Partners lifted its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 212.2% in the fourth quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 153 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in Ascendis Pharma A/S in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 111.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 214 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on ASND. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $345.00 to $329.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $275.00 to $273.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ascendis Pharma A/S from a "sell (d)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ascendis Pharma A/S from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Monday, May 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $355.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $310.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jean-Jacques Bienaimé acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $246.33 per share, for a total transaction of $492,660.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 2,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $714,357. This represents a 222.22% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 40.00% of the company's stock.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ASND opened at $270.56 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a current ratio of 2.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.88 billion, a PE ratio of 20.99 and a beta of 0.35. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a fifty-two week low of $186.05 and a fifty-two week high of $282.15. The company has a fifty day moving average of $257.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $240.86.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The biotechnology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.68). Ascendis Pharma A/S had a net margin of 70.99% and a return on equity of 32.54%. The company had revenue of $387.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $376.75 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 5.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Ascendis Pharma A/S

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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