Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. UBS Group initiated coverage on Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Thursday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $269.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright set a $344.00 price objective on Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $304.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $275.00 to $273.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $305.95.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Price Performance

NASDAQ ASND opened at $251.27 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $242.31 and its 200 day moving average is $238.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a current ratio of 2.99. The company has a market capitalization of $15.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.49 and a beta of 0.38. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a fifty-two week low of $188.07 and a fifty-two week high of $282.15.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The biotechnology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $376.75 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ascendis Pharma A/S

In other news, Director Jean-Jacques Bienaimé acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $246.33 per share, with a total value of $492,660.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 2,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $714,357. This trade represents a 222.22% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Mads Bodenhoff sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.19, for a total value of $810,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $810,570. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 40.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Perceptive Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 41.6% during the first quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 1,531,421 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $350,282,000 after buying an additional 450,000 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 24.8% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 351,146 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $80,318,000 after acquiring an additional 69,673 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 230,278 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $52,671,000 after acquiring an additional 43,338 shares during the period. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 68.9% in the 2nd quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 225,155 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $60,053,000 after acquiring an additional 91,822 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orbimed Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC now owns 181,977 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $41,624,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter.

About Ascendis Pharma A/S

Ascendis Pharma A/S is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for rare diseases. The company uses its proprietary TransCon technology platform to design long-acting medicines intended to improve treatment convenience, maintain controlled drug exposure, and address unmet medical needs.

Its commercial products include SKYTROFA (lonape­gsomatropin-tcgd), a once-weekly growth hormone treatment for children with growth hormone deficiency, and YORVIPATH (palopegteriparatide), a once-daily therapy for adults with hypoparathyroidism.