Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Buys 11,897 Shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND

Key Points

• Braun Stacey Associates increased its stake in Ascendis Pharma by 10% in the first quarter, buying 11,897 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 130,992 shares worth about $29.96 million.
• Several other hedge funds also adjusted positions in ASND, while analysts remain broadly positive: the stock carries a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $295.39.
• Ascendis Pharma reported quarterly EPS of $0.32, topping expectations, though revenue of $285.45 million came in below estimates; the stock was trading near $260.75, close to its 52-week high.

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Free Report) by 10.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 130,992 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,897 shares during the quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. owned 0.21% of Ascendis Pharma A/S worth $29,962,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ASND. HighVista Strategies LLC lifted its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 138.1% during the third quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC now owns 7,082 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,408,000 after purchasing an additional 4,108 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 544,606 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $108,274,000 after buying an additional 13,797 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $15,693,000. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,110,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,015,919,000 after buying an additional 130,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 4,398.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 170,701 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $33,937,000 after acquiring an additional 166,906 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASND has been the topic of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $273.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $255.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $342.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $332.00 target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $295.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Flemming Steen Jensen sold 19,460 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 purchased 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $237.80 per share, with a total value of $95,120.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 400 shares in the company, valued at $95,120. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 40.00% of the company's stock.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Down 0.3%

ASND stock opened at $260.75 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.08 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 12 month low of $160.86 and a 12 month high of $271.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $232.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $225.66.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $285.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $362.47 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 4.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ascendis Pharma A/S 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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