Short Interest in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) Declines By 39.2%

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,721,179 shares, a decrease of 39.2% from the April 30th total of 2,832,689 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 623,378 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days. Currently, 4.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Flemming Steen Jensen sold 19,460 shares of the company’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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime purchased 400 shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $237.80 per share, with a total value of $95,120.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,120. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 40.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ascendis Pharma A/S

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. HighVista Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 138.1% during the 3rd quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC now owns 7,082 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,408,000 after purchasing an additional 4,108 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 544,606 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $108,274,000 after purchasing an additional 13,797 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 3rd quarter worth $15,693,000. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 2.6% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 4,398.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 170,701 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $33,937,000 after purchasing an additional 166,906 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $255.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Monday, May 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $355.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $332.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, 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 research report on Friday, May 8th. Two 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Ascendis Pharma A/S currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $295.39.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ASND opened at $218.84 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $233.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $223.69. The company has a market cap of $13.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.24 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 52 week low of $160.86 and a 52 week high of $250.74.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $285.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $362.47 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 12.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.