HighTower Advisors LLC Buys 14,518 Shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC significantly increased its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 413.1%, acquiring an additional 14,518 shares, bringing its total holdings to 18,032 shares valued at approximately $2.81 million.
• Ascendis Pharma A/S reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with a loss of ($0.93) per share, surpassing analyst estimates of ($1.42) and generating revenue of $216.28 million, exceeding projections of $163.17 million.
• The stock has garnered a consensus "Buy" rating from analysts, with an average price target of $243.36, reflecting optimism about the company's growth potential and ongoing development of therapies for rare diseases.

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Free Report) by 413.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,032 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 14,518 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S were worth $2,810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ASND. RA Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. now owns 10,112,744 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,392,221,000 after buying an additional 402,316 shares in the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP increased its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 108.0% in the 4th quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 520,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $71,588,000 after buying an additional 270,000 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,380,382 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $602,910,000 after buying an additional 193,688 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,283,207 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $314,330,000 after buying an additional 162,079 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Soleus Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 4th quarter valued at $19,824,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ASND shares. Wedbush increased their target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $212.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $295.00 target price (up previously from $289.00) on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Friday, August 8th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $290.00 target price (up previously from $243.00) on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Ascendis Pharma A/S from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $243.36.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ ASND traded up $0.89 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $193.90. The company had a trading volume of 368,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 556,198. The company has a market capitalization of $11.87 billion, a PE ratio of -37.58 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $179.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $165.40. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a one year low of $111.09 and a one year high of $199.99.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.93) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.42) by $0.49. The company had revenue of $216.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $163.17 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post -4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Company Profile

Ascendis Pharma A/S, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing therapies for unmet medical needs. It offers SKYTROFA for treating patients with growth hormone deficiency (GHD). The company is also developing a pipeline of three independent endocrinology rare disease product candidates in clinical development, as well as focuses on advancing oncology therapeutic candidates.