First Trust Advisors LP Acquires 18,905 Shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP increased its Ascendis Pharma holdings by 154.6% in the first quarter, acquiring 18,905 additional shares for a total position of 31,135 shares valued at approximately $7.12 million.
• Ascendis reported first-quarter earnings of $0.32 per share, exceeding the $0.21 consensus estimate, though revenue of $285.45 million fell short of the $362.47 million forecast.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with the stock carrying a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $296.72 versus its recent price of $243.91.

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Free Report) by 154.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,135 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,905 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S were worth $7,122,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Arax Advisory Partners lifted its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 212.2% during the 4th quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 153 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 111.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 214 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Performance

Shares of ASND opened at $243.91 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. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $244.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $234.90. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 12 month low of $167.27 and a 12 month high of $282.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.13 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Insider Activity at Ascendis Pharma A/S

In other Ascendis Pharma A/S news, insider Flemming Steen Jensen sold 19,460 shares of the business's 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime purchased 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $237.80 per share, for a total transaction of $95,120.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,120. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 40.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ASND. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $330.00 to $326.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $329.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Monday, May 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $355.00 target price for the company. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $262.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $296.72.

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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