Orbimed Advisors LLC Buys 10,000 Shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND

Key Points

• Orbimed Advisors increased its Ascendis Pharma stake by 5.8%, buying 10,000 shares to own 181,977 shares valued at approximately $41.6 million, or 0.29% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Buy” rating and average price target of $296.72. Recent targets range from $275 to $345, although Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock to “Hold.”
• Ascendis shares opened at $253.86, near their $282.15 one-year high, while the company’s latest quarterly EPS of $0.32 exceeded estimates of $0.21; revenue of $285.45 million fell short of the $362.47 million consensus.

Orbimed Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Free Report) by 5.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 181,977 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC owned about 0.29% of Ascendis Pharma A/S worth $41,624,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ASND. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 2nd quarter worth about $552,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 4.0% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,441 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 66.2% in the second 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 83.4% in the second 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 second quarter valued at approximately $897,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $342.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $330.00 to $326.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $256.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $296.72.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ASND opened at $253.86 on Monday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $244.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $233.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.28 and a beta of 0.37. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a one year low of $160.86 and a one year high of $282.15.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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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