Sector Gamma AS Acquires Shares of 17,000 Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND

Key Points

• Sector Gamma AS acquired 17,000 shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during Q1, valued at approximately $2.65 million, making it the 28th largest position in their portfolio.
• Multiple institutional investors, including T. Rowe Price and RA Capital Management, increased their stakes in Ascendis Pharma A/S significantly in the previous quarter, highlighting growing confidence in the company.
• Analysts have raised price targets for Ascendis Pharma A/S, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target of $242.93, driven by strong quarterly earnings that exceeded expectations.

Sector Gamma AS purchased a new stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 17,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $2,650,000. Ascendis Pharma A/S accounts for 0.8% of Sector Gamma AS's portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Ascendis Pharma A/S in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S in the fourth quarter valued at about $96,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 195.3% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,004 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $138,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the fourth quarter valued at about $174,000. Finally, Dearborn Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $203,000.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Price Performance

ASND traded down $4.24 on Monday, reaching $194.08. 587,772 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 549,412. The company has a market cap of $11.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.61 and a beta of 0.41. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $176.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $162.07. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 52-week low of $111.09 and a 52-week high of $199.99.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.93) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.42) by $0.49. The company had revenue of $216.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $163.17 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post -4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on ASND. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $307.00 target price (up from $306.00) on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $212.00 to $254.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $295.00 price objective (up from $289.00) on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Ascendis Pharma A/S has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $242.93.

About Ascendis Pharma A/S

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.