Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) Short Interest Up 31.3% in February

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 3,802,853 shares, a growth of 31.3% from the January 29th total of 2,896,919 shares. Approximately 10.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 848,679 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.5 days. Based on an average daily volume of 848,679 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.5 days. Approximately 10.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Performance

ASND stock opened at $233.50 on Monday. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a one year low of $124.06 and a one year high of $242.00. The firm has a market cap of $14.47 billion, a PE ratio of -53.07 and a beta of 0.44. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $219.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $208.34.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.64) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by ($0.58). The business had revenue of $290.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $285.35 million. Equities research analysts predict that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post -4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASND. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,209,000. Dorsey Wright & Associates boosted its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 8,504 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,813,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,393 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $724,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 36,697 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $7,825,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $951,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ASND shares. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $246.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $325.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.29.

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.