Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND Shares Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management cut its Ascendis Pharma stake by 77.8% in the third quarter, selling 182,178 shares. It retained 51,861 shares, valued at about $11.8 million.
• Other institutional investors made smaller moves, including several increasing their holdings and Mirae Asset Global Investments establishing a new position.
• Analyst sentiment remained positive: 19 analysts rated the stock a Buy and two a Hold, with a consensus price target of $305.95. Separately, Ascendis reported quarterly EPS below estimates but revenue above them.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA trimmed its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Free Report) by 77.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,861 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 182,178 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.08% of Ascendis Pharma A/S worth $11,826,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ASND. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC now owns 4,706 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP increased its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 31.4% in the third quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 4,108 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $936,000 after buying an additional 982 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 19.4% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,459 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 2.3% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 2,316 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $564,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the third quarter valued at $1,657,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ascendis Pharma A/S

In related news, SVP Mads Bodenhoff sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.19, for a total transaction of $810,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $810,570. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 40.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Performance

ASND opened at $267.07 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $242.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $239.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.99 and a quick ratio of 2.32. The company has a market capitalization of $16.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72 and a beta of 0.40. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 1-year low of $188.07 and a 1-year high of $282.15.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $387.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $376.75 million. Ascendis Pharma A/S had a net margin of 70.99% and a return on equity of 32.54%. Research analysts predict that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 3.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASND has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, November 8th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $304.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $306.00 to $304.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $305.95.

More Ascendis Pharma A/S News

Here's some of the latest news about ASND:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 revenue and earnings topped analyst expectations: Ascendis reported earnings per share of $1.94 versus consensus of $0.89, and revenue of $418.71 million versus estimates of $409.40 million. MarketBeat earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Product revenue rose 89% year over year to €366 million. YORVIPATH led with €291 million in sales, while SKYTROFA and YUVIWEL contributed €59 million and €16 million, respectively—evidence of strong commercial growth. Ascendis Q3 results
• Negative Sentiment: Ascendis granted 28,030 employee warrants. The awards may create some share dilution, though the reported number is relatively small compared with the company’s share base. Employee warrant announcement

Ascendis Pharma A/S Profile

Ascendis Pharma A/S is a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Denmark that develops medicines for rare diseases, with a focus on endocrinology. Founded in 2006, the company uses its TransCon technology platform to design therapies intended to provide sustained delivery of medicines. Its commercial products include SKYTROFA (lonapegsomatropin), a once-weekly growth hormone treatment for children with growth hormone deficiency, and YORVIPATH (palopegteriparatide), a treatment for adults with hypoparathyroidism.

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