Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at BMO Capital Markets

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) was upgraded by equities research analysts at BMO Capital Markets to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $325.00 to $341.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $345.00 to $329.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ascendis Pharma A/S presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $300.33.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ASND opened at $259.62 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $16.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 2.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 52 week low of $186.05 and a 52 week high of $282.15. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $252.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $237.76.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The biotechnology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.68). Ascendis Pharma A/S had a net margin of 70.99% and a return on equity of 32.54%. The business had revenue of $387.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $376.75 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 4.35 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ascendis Pharma A/S news, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime purchased 2,000 shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $246.33 per share, with a total value of $492,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $714,357. This represents a 222.22% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have purchased a total of 2,500 shares of company stock valued at $609,680 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 40.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ascendis Pharma A/S

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASND. Quantitative Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 2nd quarter valued at $529,000. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 2nd quarter worth $693,000. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 132,682 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,690 shares in the last quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ascendis Pharma A/S in the second quarter valued at about $347,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 245.4% in the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 19,977 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,328,000 after purchasing an additional 14,193 shares during the period.

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.