Barclays Begins Coverage on Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND)

Analysts at Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm set an “overweight” rating and a $342.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. Barclays‘s price target points to a potential upside of 54.19% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $322.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $269.00.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:ASND traded down $0.64 on Tuesday, hitting $221.81. 186,334 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 680,116. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 1 year low of $118.03 and a 1 year high of $242.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $211.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $200.80. The company has a market cap of $13.75 billion, a PE ratio of -50.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.46.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.41) by ($0.76). The firm had revenue of $250.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $246.91 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post -4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ascendis Pharma A/S

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S during the second quarter valued at about $41,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 57.2% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 228 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 291.1% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 352 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the third quarter worth about $74,000.

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.