Fred Alger Management LLC Grows Holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND

Fred Alger Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) by 106.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 352,109 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 181,408 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S were worth $75,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighVista Strategies LLC increased its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 138.1% during the 3rd 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 period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 2.6% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 3rd quarter worth $15,693,000. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,110,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,015,919,000 after buying an additional 130,000 shares during the period. Finally, Atika Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 35.1% during the 3rd quarter. Atika Capital Management LLC now owns 22,160 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,406,000 after buying an additional 5,760 shares during the period.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Trading Up 3.5%

NASDAQ ASND opened at $231.20 on Wednesday. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a one year low of $160.86 and a one year high of $250.74. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $232.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $223.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.42 billion, a PE ratio of 26.67 and a beta of 0.39.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $285.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $362.47 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 14.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on ASND shares. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $273.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Thursday, April 9th. 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 report on Monday, March 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Two investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ascendis Pharma A/S currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $295.39.

Insider Activity at Ascendis Pharma A/S

In other news, insider Flemming Steen Jensen sold 19,460 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.49, for a total transaction of $4,641,015.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime purchased 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $237.80 per share, for a total transaction of $95,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,120. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 40.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.