Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) Director Jean Jacques Bienaime Acquires 400 Shares

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) Director Jean Jacques Bienaime purchased 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $237.80 per share, for a total transaction of $95,120.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,120. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of ASND traded down $4.39 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $235.26. 353,256 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 686,936. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 52 week low of $156.56 and a 52 week high of $250.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company’s 50 day moving average is $233.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.54. The company has a market capitalization of $14.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.13 and a beta of 0.41.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $285.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $362.47 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup started coverage on Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Monday, May 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $355.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $246.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ascendis Pharma A/S from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $342.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $295.39.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ascendis Pharma A/S

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASND. Perceptive Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the second quarter worth about $166,367,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 95.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,798,931 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $357,645,000 after purchasing an additional 880,836 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 2,722.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 793,677 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $157,791,000 after purchasing an additional 765,561 shares during the period. Vestal Point Capital LP grew its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 200.0% in the third quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 600,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $119,286,000 after purchasing an additional 400,000 shares during the period. Finally, Spyglass Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the third quarter worth approximately $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.