Sei Investments Co. Grows Holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND

Key Points

• Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Ascendis Pharma by 24.8% in the first quarter, holding 351,146 shares valued at about $80.3 million.
• Ascendis Pharma reported Q1 earnings of $0.32 per share, beating analyst expectations, though revenue of $285.45 million came in below estimates.
• Wall Street sentiment remains upbeat overall, with a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $296.72, despite one recent downgrade to Hold.

Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Free Report) by 24.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 351,146 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 69,673 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.56% of Ascendis Pharma A/S worth $80,318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Arax Advisory Partners raised its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 212.2% in the 4th quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 153 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 111.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 214 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Performance

Shares of ASND opened at $253.86 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.84 billion, a PE ratio of 29.28 and a beta of 0.37. The business's fifty day moving average price is $244.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $233.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 12-month low of $160.86 and a 12-month high of $282.15.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $285.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $362.47 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 4.49 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on ASND. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Monday, May 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $355.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $342.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $329.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $296.72.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime bought 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $237.80 per share, with a total value of $95,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $95,120. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Flemming Steen Jensen sold 19,460 shares of the business'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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 40.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Ascendis Pharma A/S

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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