Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) Trading Down 7.6% – Here’s What Happened

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND)’s share price traded down 7.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $218.08 and last traded at $219.44. 503,519 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 26% from the average session volume of 680,507 shares. The stock had previously closed at $237.47.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $262.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $273.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ascendis Pharma A/S has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $295.39.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Down 6.5%

The firm has a market cap of $13.86 billion, a PE ratio of 25.69 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $233.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $223.07. 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) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $285.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $362.47 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime bought 400 shares of the firm’s 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 acquisition, the director directly owned 400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,120. This trade represents a ? increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Flemming Steen Jensen sold 19,460 shares of the business’s 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. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 40.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ascendis Pharma A/S

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ASND. Perceptive Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 2nd quarter valued at $166,367,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 95.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,798,931 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $357,645,000 after buying an additional 880,836 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 2,722.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 793,677 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $157,791,000 after buying an additional 765,561 shares during the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP grew its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 200.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 600,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $119,286,000 after buying an additional 400,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spyglass Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 3rd quarter valued at $77,267,000.

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.