Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $275.00 and last traded at $274.7360, with a volume of 164042 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $266.97.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ASND shares. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Monday, May 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $355.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $330.00 to $326.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $329.00 price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $273.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ascendis Pharma A/S currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $295.67.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Trading Down 1.9%

The firm has a market capitalization of $16.86 billion, a PE ratio of 31.17 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $238.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $229.86.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $285.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $362.47 million. As a group, analysts expect that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 4.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ascendis Pharma A/S news, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime acquired 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $237.80 per share, with a total value of $95,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,120. This trade represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase 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 company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.49, for a total value of $4,641,015.40. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 40.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ascendis Pharma A/S

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HighVista Strategies LLC grew its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 138.1% during the third quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC now owns 7,082 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,408,000 after acquiring an additional 4,108 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 3rd quarter worth about $15,693,000. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,110,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,015,919,000 after purchasing an additional 130,000 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 4,398.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 170,701 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,937,000 after purchasing an additional 166,906 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atika Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 35.1% in the 3rd quarter. Atika Capital Management LLC now owns 22,160 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,406,000 after purchasing an additional 5,760 shares in the last quarter.

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.