Sigma Planning Corp Has $1.67 Million Position in Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND

Sigma Planning Corp grew its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) by 52.5% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,297 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,513 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S were worth $1,669,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Perceptive Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 2nd quarter worth about $166,367,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 95.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,798,931 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $357,645,000 after acquiring an additional 880,836 shares during the period. Vestal Point Capital LP lifted its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 200.0% during the third quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 600,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $119,286,000 after acquiring an additional 400,000 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,026,407 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $218,871,000 after acquiring an additional 232,730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 106.3% during the fourth quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 352,109 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $75,084,000 after acquiring an additional 181,408 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ASND shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $262.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Monday, May 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $355.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen cut Ascendis Pharma A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $342.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $295.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime acquired 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $237.80 per share, for a total transaction of $95,120.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,120. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Flemming Steen Jensen sold 19,460 shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.49, for a total value of $4,641,015.40. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 40.00% of the company’s stock.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ASND opened at $261.00 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $242.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $232.02. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 12-month low of $160.86 and a 12-month high of $282.15. The firm has a market cap of $16.28 billion, a PE ratio of 30.10 and a beta of 0.37. 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 (NASDAQ:ASND) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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. Equities research analysts predict that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 4.63 earnings per share for the current 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.