Perceptive Advisors LLC Has $230.60 Million Stock Holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND

Key Points

• Perceptive Advisors trimmed its stake in Ascendis Pharma by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, but still held 1.08 million shares worth about $230.6 million, making ASND its 4th-largest holding and 4.1% of its portfolio.
• Several other institutional investors also increased their positions, including Wellington Management and Principal Financial Group, signaling continued strong institutional interest in the biotech stock.
• Ascendis Pharma posted EPS of $0.32 in its latest quarter, beating estimates, while analysts remain largely bullish with a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $295.39.

Perceptive Advisors LLC lowered its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Free Report) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,081,421 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 7,080 shares during the period. Ascendis Pharma A/S accounts for 4.1% of Perceptive Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Perceptive Advisors LLC owned about 1.74% of Ascendis Pharma A/S worth $230,602,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 130,000 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised 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 acquiring an additional 13,685 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised 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 acquiring an additional 880,836 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,026,407 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $218,871,000 after purchasing an additional 232,730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vestal Point Capital LP raised its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 200.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 600,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $119,286,000 after purchasing an additional 400,000 shares during the last quarter.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Performance

ASND stock opened at $231.15 on Thursday. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $232.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.09. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a fifty-two week low of $160.86 and a fifty-two week high of $250.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.42 billion, a PE ratio of 26.66 and a beta of 0.39.

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 company had revenue of $285.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $362.47 million. Analysts forecast that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 14.25 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ascendis Pharma A/S news, insider Flemming Steen Jensen sold 19,460 shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S stock in a transaction 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime bought 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 acquisition, the director directly owned 400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,120. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 40.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $273.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ascendis Pharma A/S has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $295.39.

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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