Trexquant Investment LP Purchases 16,693 Shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP increased its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 61.7% in the first quarter, now owning approximately 0.07% of the company valued at $6,820,000.
• Several hedge funds, including HighTower Advisors LLC, have significantly expanded their holdings in Ascendis Pharma, with HighTower increasing theirs by 413.1% during the same period.
• Analysts have responded positively to Ascendis Pharma's performance, with various firms raising their price targets, leading to a consensus "Buy" rating and an average target of $243.36.

Trexquant Investment LP raised its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Free Report) by 61.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 43,760 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,693 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned 0.07% of Ascendis Pharma A/S worth $6,820,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mariner LLC raised its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 31.0% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 2,160 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position 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. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 17,097 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,354,000 after purchasing an additional 4,534 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 4th quarter valued at about $230,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 82,955 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $11,420,000 after purchasing an additional 11,648 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on ASND. Wedbush upped their target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $212.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $307.00 price objective (up previously from $306.00) on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ascendis Pharma A/S from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $290.00 price objective (up from $243.00) on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $224.00 target price (up from $215.00) on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Friday, June 13th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $244.36.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Trading Up 3.8%

Ascendis Pharma A/S stock traded up $7.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $205.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 168,706 shares, compared to its average volume of 488,445. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.58 billion, a PE ratio of -39.82 and a beta of 0.39. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 1 year low of $111.09 and a 1 year high of $207.00. The stock's fifty day moving average is $182.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.53.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.93) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.42) by $0.49. The business had revenue of $216.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $163.17 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post -4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Company Profile

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.