Baird Financial Group Inc. Buys New Position in Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group acquired 10,735 Ascendis Pharma shares worth approximately $2.86 million during the second quarter. Several other institutional investors also increased or initiated positions, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Ascendis reported quarterly earnings of $1.03 per share, missing the $1.71 consensus estimate, although revenue of $387.22 million exceeded expectations. The stock opened at $247.69, with a market capitalization of about $15.45 billion.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook, with 19 Buy ratings, one Strong Buy, and one Hold; the consensus price target is $310.75. Insider activity was mixed, with an executive selling shares while a director purchased 2,000 shares.

Baird Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,735 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $2,863,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Perceptive Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 41.6% during the first quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 1,531,421 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $350,282,000 after purchasing an additional 450,000 shares during the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 106.3% in the 4th 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. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 243.0% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 251,833 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $56,907,000 after purchasing an additional 178,415 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,837,000. Finally, Cormorant Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 4th quarter valued at about $21,324,000.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Price Performance

ASND opened at $247.69 on Thursday. 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $256.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $242.60. The firm has a market cap of $15.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22 and a beta of 0.35. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 1 year low of $186.05 and a 1 year high of $282.15.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 14th. The biotechnology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.68). The company had revenue of $387.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $376.75 million. Ascendis Pharma A/S had a net margin of 70.99% and a return on equity of 32.54%. As a group, analysts predict that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

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 value of $810,570.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jean-Jacques Bienaimé purchased 2,000 shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 $714,357. This trade represents a 222.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 40.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ASND. Barclays dropped their target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $345.00 to $329.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 14th. 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. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $333.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $328.00 to $326.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $327.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ascendis Pharma A/S currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $310.75.

Key Ascendis Pharma A/S News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ascendis Pharma A/S this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The company authorized a share repurchase program of up to $400 million, signaling management’s confidence in the stock’s value and providing potential support for per-share results. Ascendis Pharma board approves $400M share repurchase program
• Positive Sentiment: Ascendis will regain rights to TransCon technology programs in metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, including once-monthly TransCon semaglutide. Full ownership could allow the company to capture more of the program’s future economics and set its own development strategy. Ascendis Pharma Regains Rights to Obesity Drug
• Neutral Sentiment: At the Morgan Stanley Global Healthcare Conference, management discussed Ascendis’ pipeline and business strategy. The presentation gave investors additional context as they assess the company’s transition to operating independently. Morgan Stanley Healthcare Conference Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary characterizes Ascendis as returning to “full independence,” with investors weighing greater control over its technology against the loss of a major commercial partner. Ascendis Pharma: Back To Full Independence
• Negative Sentiment: The Novo collaboration’s termination removes partner support for development and commercialization, while Ascendis assumes more responsibility for advancing its obesity and type 2 diabetes programs. Investors initially viewed that uncertainty negatively, and Raymond James downgraded the shares to Outperform from a more bullish stance. Ascendis Pharma Stock Falls Over Share Repurchase Authorization

Ascendis Pharma A/S Profile

Ascendis Pharma A/S NASDAQ: ASND is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for rare diseases. The company uses its proprietary TransCon technology platform to design long-acting medicines intended to improve the effectiveness, convenience, and tolerability of established treatments.

Ascendis' marketed products include Skytrofa (lonapegsomatropin-tcgd), a long-acting growth hormone approved for the treatment of growth hormone deficiency in children, and Yorvipath (palopegteriparatide), a hormone replacement therapy for adults with hypoparathyroidism.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.