First Turn Management LLC Has $28.11 Million Position in Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND

Key Points

• First Turn Management LLC reduced its stake in Ascendis Pharma by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 14,483 shares and ending with 131,808 shares valued at about $28.1 million.
• Ascendis Pharma reported better-than-expected earnings for the quarter, with EPS of $0.32 versus the $0.21 consensus estimate, though revenue came in below forecasts at $285.45 million.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock, with an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $295.39; recent insider activity included one executive sale and one director purchase.

First Turn Management LLC lowered its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Free Report) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 131,808 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 14,483 shares during the quarter. Ascendis Pharma A/S accounts for approximately 3.2% of First Turn Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. First Turn Management LLC owned approximately 0.21% of Ascendis Pharma A/S worth $28,107,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 2.6% in the third 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 during the period. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 0.4% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,060,616 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $608,481,000 after buying an additional 13,685 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 95.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,798,931 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $357,645,000 after buying an additional 880,836 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,026,407 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $218,871,000 after buying an additional 232,730 shares during the period. Finally, Perceptive Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the second quarter valued at approximately $166,367,000.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Up 1.1%

Ascendis Pharma A/S stock opened at $218.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.00. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 52-week low of $160.86 and a 52-week high of $250.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $232.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $223.57. The firm has a market cap of $13.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.15 and a beta of 0.39.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $285.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $362.47 million. Equities analysts predict that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 14.25 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on ASND shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $342.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Monday, May 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $355.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Monday, March 2nd. 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 has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $295.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ascendis Pharma A/S news, 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 transaction of $4,641,015.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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. 40.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Company 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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