Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $205.03 Million Holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group cut its stake in Ascendis Pharma by 12.7% in the first quarter, but still held 896,397 shares worth about $205.0 million, or 1.44% of the company.
• Ascendis Pharma reported Q1 earnings of $0.32 per share, beating analyst expectations of $0.21, though revenue of $285.45 million came in below estimates.
• Analysts remain upbeat on the stock, with a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $295.67 after several firms recently raised or reiterated positive ratings.

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Free Report) by 12.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 896,397 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 130,010 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 1.44% of Ascendis Pharma A/S worth $205,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ASND. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 37.7% in the 1st quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,675 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,352,000 after purchasing an additional 2,924 shares in the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the first quarter valued at about $595,000. Candriam S.C.A. grew its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 23.2% during the first quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 230,278 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $52,671,000 after purchasing an additional 43,338 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 4.4% during the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG increased its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 405.9% in the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 855 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $196,000 after buying an additional 686 shares during the period.

Insider Transactions at Ascendis Pharma A/S

In other news, insider Flemming Steen Jensen sold 19,460 shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.49, for a total value of $4,641,015.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime acquired 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $237.80 per share, for a total transaction of $95,120.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 400 shares in the company, valued at $95,120. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 40.00% of the company's stock.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ ASND opened at $265.57 on Wednesday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $241.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $231.06. 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 $282.15. The company has a market capitalization of $16.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.63 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 firm had revenue of $285.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $362.47 million. Equities analysts forecast that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 4.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $262.00 to $292.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Monday, May 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $355.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ascendis Pharma A/S has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $295.67.

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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