Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $272.54 and last traded at $269.8940, with a volume of 17050 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $267.79.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on ASND shares. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $273.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 20th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Citigroup started coverage on Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Monday, May 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $355.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $330.00 to $326.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $295.39.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $233.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $227.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.81 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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $285.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $362.47 million. On average, analysts forecast that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 4.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Flemming Steen Jensen sold 19,460 shares of the firm’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 value of $4,641,015.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime acquired 400 shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $237.80 per share, with a total value of $95,120.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,120. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 40.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ascendis Pharma A/S

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASND. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,441 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Certuity LLC grew its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 1,170 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 34.0% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 272 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 550 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 72 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.