TD Asset Management Inc Has $49.90 Million Position in Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND

Key Points

• TD Asset Management cut its stake in Ascendis Pharma by 21% in the fourth quarter, but still held 234,012 shares worth about $49.9 million at quarter-end.
• Recent insider activity was mixed: Flemming Steen Jensen sold shares for about $4.64 million, while director Jean Jacques Bienaime bought 400 shares.
• Ascendis Pharma reported Q1 earnings of $0.32 per share, beating estimates, and Wall Street remains largely bullish with a consensus Buy rating and average price target of about $295.39.

TD Asset Management Inc lowered its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Free Report) by 21.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 234,012 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 62,334 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc owned about 0.38% of Ascendis Pharma A/S worth $49,901,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. HighVista Strategies LLC lifted its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 138.1% in the 3rd quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC now owns 7,082 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,408,000 after acquiring an additional 4,108 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 544,606 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $108,274,000 after acquiring an additional 13,797 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 3rd quarter valued at $15,693,000. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 2.6% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 4,398.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 170,701 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $33,937,000 after acquiring an additional 166,906 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ascendis Pharma A/S news, insider Flemming Steen Jensen sold 19,460 shares of the 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime bought 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $237.80 per share, for a total transaction of $95,120.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,120. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 40.00% of the company's stock.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Down 3.8%

Ascendis Pharma A/S stock opened at $210.45 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.13 billion, a PE ratio of 24.27 and a beta of 0.39. The company's 50-day moving average is $233.16 and its 200-day moving average is $223.60. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a fifty-two week low of $160.86 and a fifty-two week high of $250.74. 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 (NASDAQ:ASND - Get Free Report) last released 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 12.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on ASND. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Monday, March 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $290.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Monday, May 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $355.00 price target on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $342.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $246.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ascendis Pharma A/S presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average 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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