Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Buys 25,148 Shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND

Key Points

• Braun Stacey Associates increased its stake in Ascendis Pharma by 26.8%, buying 25,148 shares to hold 119,095 shares (0.19%) worth about $25.4 million at quarter-end.
• Equity analysts are broadly positive — the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with a consensus target of $289.89 and several recent upgrades (e.g., Barclays $342, Evercore $324).
• Ascendis reported a quarterly EPS miss (‑$0.64 vs. ‑$0.06 expected) but modestly beat revenue expectations ($290.4M vs. $285.4M); the stock trades near $229 with a $14.29B market cap and a 52‑week range of $124.06–$248.60.

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. grew its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Free Report) by 26.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 119,095 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 25,148 shares during the quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. owned 0.19% of Ascendis Pharma A/S worth $25,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ASND. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 57.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 228 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 3rd quarter valued at about $74,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 115.3% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 478 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 33.7% in the third quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 595 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays assumed coverage on Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $342.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $324.00 price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $262.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $246.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $289.89.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ASND opened at $229.25 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $227.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.91. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 52 week low of $124.06 and a 52 week high of $248.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.29 billion, a PE ratio of -52.10 and a beta of 0.49.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.64) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.58). The business had revenue of $290.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $285.35 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post -4.34 EPS for the current 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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