Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $271.89 and last traded at $261.58, with a volume of 2653983 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $238.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on ASND shares. Bank of America raised their target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $262.00 to $292.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Monday, March 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $290.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $295.39.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Up 9.9%

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $232.05 and a 200-day moving average of $225.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.17 and a beta of 0.39.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $285.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $362.47 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ascendis Pharma A/S

In related news, insider Flemming Steen Jensen sold 19,460 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.49, for a total value of $4,641,015.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime purchased 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were acquired 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,120. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 40.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ascendis Pharma A/S

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HighVista Strategies LLC grew its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 138.1% during the third quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC now owns 7,082 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,408,000 after buying an additional 4,108 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 2.6% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 544,606 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $108,274,000 after buying an additional 13,797 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the third quarter valued at approximately $15,693,000. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 2.6% in the third quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,110,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,015,919,000 after acquiring an additional 130,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 4,398.1% in the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 170,701 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,937,000 after acquiring an additional 166,906 shares during the last quarter.

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.