Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) Short Interest Update

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,721,179 shares, a drop of 39.2% from the April 30th total of 2,832,689 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 623,378 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days. Approximately 4.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Trading Up 0.4%

ASND stock traded up $0.93 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $217.53. The stock had a trading volume of 18,367 shares, compared to its average volume of 680,510. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $233.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $223.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $13.57 billion, a PE ratio of 25.09 and a beta of 0.39. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 12-month low of $160.86 and a 12-month high of $250.74.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $285.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $362.47 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 11.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ascendis Pharma A/S

In related news, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime bought 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $237.80 per share, for a total transaction of $95,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,120. This represents a ? increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Flemming Steen Jensen sold 19,460 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.49, for a total transaction of $4,641,015.40. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 40.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ascendis Pharma A/S

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASND. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Arax Advisory Partners grew its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 212.2% in the fourth quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 153 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Ascendis Pharma A/S during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 57.2% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 228 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ASND shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Citigroup began coverage on Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Monday, May 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $355.00 price target for the company. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $329.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $342.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ascendis Pharma A/S has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $295.39.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Company 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.