HC Wainwright Upgrades Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) to Strong-Buy

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) was upgraded by analysts at HC Wainwright to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $333.00 price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $325.00 to $341.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ascendis Pharma A/S from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $319.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $302.68.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ ASND opened at $249.36 on Thursday. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a one year low of $186.05 and a one year high of $282.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.99 and a quick ratio of 2.32. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $255.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $239.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.56 billion, a PE ratio of 19.35 and a beta of 0.39.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 14th. The biotechnology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.68). Ascendis Pharma A/S had a return on equity of 32.54% and a net margin of 70.99%.The firm had revenue of $387.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $376.75 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 3.9 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ascendis Pharma A/S

In other news, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $246.33 per share, with a total value of $492,660.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $714,357. This trade represents a 222.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 40.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ascendis Pharma A/S

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASND. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $357,645,000 after buying an additional 880,836 shares during the last quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC grew its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 41.6% in the first quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 1,531,421 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $350,282,000 after acquiring an additional 450,000 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,026,407 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $218,871,000 after acquiring an additional 232,730 shares during the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP increased its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 200.0% in the third quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 600,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $119,286,000 after acquiring an additional 400,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd raised its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 478,641 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $102,065,000 after purchasing an additional 19,301 shares in the last quarter.

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.