Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $310.75

Shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) have earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the twenty-one brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nineteen have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $310.75.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ASND shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ascendis Pharma A/S from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $327.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $345.00 to $329.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 14th.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Performance

Shares of ASND opened at $227.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a current ratio of 2.99. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $249.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $242.12. The stock has a market cap of $14.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.68 and a beta of 0.38. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a one year low of $186.05 and a one year high of $282.15.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 14th. The biotechnology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.68). Ascendis Pharma A/S had a net margin of 70.99% and a return on equity of 32.54%. The firm had revenue of $387.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $376.75 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jean-Jacques Bienaimé purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $246.33 per share, with a total value of $492,660.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $714,357. This trade represents a 222.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mads Bodenhoff sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.19, for a total value of $810,570.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $810,570. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 40.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ascendis Pharma A/S

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ASND. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Ascendis Pharma A/S during the second quarter valued at approximately $380,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 3,491.7% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 431 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 1,714.3% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 9,686 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,583,000 after purchasing an additional 10,286 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,863,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 103.4% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 240 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period.

About Ascendis Pharma A/S

Ascendis Pharma A/S is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies for rare diseases, particularly in endocrinology. The company uses its proprietary TransCon technology platform to design medicines intended to provide sustained release of therapeutic compounds and potentially improve treatment convenience and patient outcomes.

Ascendis Pharma’s marketed products include Skytrofa (lonapegsomatropin-tcgb), a once-weekly growth hormone treatment for children with growth hormone deficiency, and Yorvipath (palopegteriparatide), a parathyroid hormone replacement therapy for adults with hypoparathyroidism.