Candriam S.C.A. Increases Holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND

Candriam S.C.A. increased its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) by 23.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 230,278 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 43,338 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S were worth $52,671,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Arax Advisory Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 212.2% in the 4th quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 153 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 111.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 214 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on ASND. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $329.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $342.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 report on Friday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $295.67.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Down 1.8%

NASDAQ:ASND opened at $270.45 on Friday. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a twelve month low of $160.86 and a twelve month high of $282.15. The company has a market cap of $16.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.19 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $239.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $230.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $285.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $362.47 million. Analysts anticipate that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 4.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Ascendis Pharma A/S 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 value of $4,641,015.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime bought 400 shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $237.80 per share, for a total transaction of $95,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,120. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 40.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.