Defilade Capital Management L.P. Lowers Position in Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND

Key Points

• Defilade Capital Management cut its Ascendis Pharma position by 39.4% in the first quarter, selling 33,799 shares and retaining 51,895 shares valued at approximately $11.87 million.
• Ascendis Pharma reported quarterly EPS of $0.32, exceeding the $0.21 consensus estimate, although revenue of $285.45 million fell short of the $362.47 million estimate.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with the stock carrying an average “Buy” rating and an average price target of $296.72, compared with a recent share price of $243.91.

Defilade Capital Management L.P. lessened its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Free Report) by 39.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,895 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 33,799 shares during the quarter. Ascendis Pharma A/S comprises 1.7% of Defilade Capital Management L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Defilade Capital Management L.P. owned about 0.08% of Ascendis Pharma A/S worth $11,870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the second quarter worth approximately $552,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,441 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 66.2% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,737 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $645,000 after buying an additional 1,488 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 83.4% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 201,044 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $34,700,000 after buying an additional 91,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 2nd quarter worth $897,000.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Performance

Ascendis Pharma A/S stock opened at $243.91 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $244.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $235.09. 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 twelve month low of $167.27 and a twelve month high of $282.15. The company has a market capitalization of $15.22 billion, a PE ratio of 28.13 and a beta of 0.39.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.32 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $362.47 million. Research analysts expect that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 4.49 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Monday, May 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $355.00 target price for the company. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $273.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $330.00 to $326.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Ascendis Pharma A/S from a "sell (d)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $296.72.

Insider Activity

In other Ascendis Pharma A/S news, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime acquired 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $237.80 per share, for a total transaction of $95,120.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 400 shares in the company, valued at $95,120. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Flemming Steen Jensen sold 19,460 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.49, for a total value of $4,641,015.40. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 40.00% of the stock is owned by company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ASND? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Free Report).

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.