Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND Stock Holdings Reduced by Tri Locum Partners LP

Key Points

• Tri Locum Partners reduced its Ascendis Pharma stake by 3.7% in the first quarter, selling 9,683 shares and retaining 255,332 shares worth approximately $58.4 million.
• Institutional sentiment was mixed, with several funds increasing their holdings while analyst coverage remained broadly positive. Ascendis has an average “Buy” rating and an average price target of $296.72.
• Ascendis shares opened at $252.05, near the upper end of their 52-week range, while the company’s latest quarterly EPS of $0.32 beat expectations of $0.21; revenue of $285.45 million fell short of estimates.

Tri Locum Partners LP reduced its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Free Report) by 3.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 255,332 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 9,683 shares during the quarter. Ascendis Pharma A/S accounts for approximately 8.2% of Tri Locum Partners LP's portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Tri Locum Partners LP owned 0.41% of Ascendis Pharma A/S worth $58,402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASND. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 57.5% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 43,701 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $9,319,000 after purchasing an additional 15,950 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. grew its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 23.2% in the first quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 230,278 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $52,671,000 after purchasing an additional 43,338 shares during the last quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 119,095 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $25,396,000 after purchasing an additional 25,148 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 57.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 308,190 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $65,718,000 after buying an additional 112,986 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the fourth quarter valued at $1,384,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Monday, May 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $355.00 target price for the company. Bank of America lifted their target price 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from a "sell (d)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ascendis Pharma A/S presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $296.72.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Performance

NASDAQ ASND opened at $252.05 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a fifty-two week low of $163.88 and a fifty-two week high of $282.15. The business has a fifty day moving average of $244.94 and a 200-day moving average of $234.50. The stock has a market cap of $15.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.07 and a beta of 0.37.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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. As a group, analysts predict that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ascendis Pharma A/S

In other news, insider Flemming Steen Jensen sold 19,460 shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.49, for a total transaction of $4,641,015.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime acquired 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $237.80 per share, with a total value of $95,120.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $95,120. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 40.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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