Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. Takes $978,000 Position in Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND

Key Points

• Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. disclosed a new first-quarter position in Ascendis Pharma A/S, buying 4,276 shares valued at about $978,000.
• Institutional ownership activity was mixed, with several firms increasing holdings while insider moves went in different directions: one insider sold shares, while director Jean Jacques Bienaime bought 400 shares.
• Wall Street sentiment remains mostly positive, with analysts giving Ascendis Pharma an average Buy rating and a consensus price target of $295.67; the company also recently beat EPS expectations in its latest quarterly report.

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. bought a new position in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,276 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $978,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 4.0% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,441 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Certuity LLC increased its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 1,170 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 4.4% during the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 550 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,518 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $537,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Flemming Steen Jensen sold 19,460 shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S stock in a transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime purchased 400 shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $237.80 per share, with a total value of $95,120.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,120. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 40.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Ascendis Pharma A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $273.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $330.00 to $326.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from a "sell (d)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Monday, May 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $355.00 price objective for the company. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $295.67.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Performance

ASND stock opened at $261.00 on Friday. 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 $282.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.28 billion, a PE ratio of 30.10 and a beta of 0.37. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $242.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $232.02.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $285.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $362.47 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 4.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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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