Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) Trading 7.3% Higher – Here’s Why

Shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) shot up 7.3% on Monday . The company traded as high as $266.17 and last traded at $266.06. Approximately 172,528 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 669,456 shares. The stock had previously closed at $247.91.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASND has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Monday. Barclays lowered their price objective on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $345.00 to $329.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $330.00 to $326.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $326.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Monday. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $329.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ascendis Pharma A/S presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $304.35.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Up 5.3%

The company has a current ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $255.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $239.20. The company has a market cap of $16.28 billion, a PE ratio of 20.25 and a beta of 0.39.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 14th. The biotechnology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 3.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ascendis Pharma A/S

In related news, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $246.33 per share, with a total value of $492,660.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 2,900 shares in the company, valued at $714,357. This represents a 222.22% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 40.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ASND. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,441 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 4.4% during the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 34.0% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 272 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 550 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 75.2% in the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 226 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period.

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.