Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) SVP Mads Bodenhoff Sells 3,000 Shares

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) SVP Mads Bodenhoff sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.19, for a total value of $810,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $810,570. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Price Performance

ASND stock traded down $9.28 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $260.81. The stock had a trading volume of 476,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 674,457. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 52-week low of $186.05 and a 52-week high of $282.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $258.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $241.50. The company has a market cap of $16.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.23 and a beta of 0.35.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The biotechnology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.68). The business had revenue of $387.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $376.75 million. Ascendis Pharma A/S had a return on equity of 32.54% and a net margin of 70.99%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 5.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ASND shares. BMO Capital Markets initiated 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. Bank of America cut their target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $306.00 to $304.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ascendis Pharma A/S from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $345.00 to $329.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Monday, May 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $355.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.05.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASND. Perceptive Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S in the second quarter valued at $166,367,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake 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 valued at $357,645,000 after purchasing an additional 880,836 shares during the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP grew its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 200.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 600,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $119,286,000 after purchasing an additional 400,000 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 2nd quarter worth $50,011,000. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 106.3% during the 4th quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 352,109 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $75,084,000 after purchasing an additional 181,408 shares during the period.

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.