TD Asset Management Inc Sells 62,334 Shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND

TD Asset Management Inc lessened its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) by 21.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 234,012 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 62,334 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S were worth $49,901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 57.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 228 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 111.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 214 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $74,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ascendis Pharma A/S

In related news, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime purchased 400 shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $237.80 per share, for a total transaction of $95,120.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,120. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $4,641,015.40. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 40.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $342.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $256.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Monday, March 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $290.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $246.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $330.00 to $326.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ascendis Pharma A/S has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $295.39.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Trading Down 3.8%

ASND opened at $210.45 on Friday. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a twelve month low of $160.86 and a twelve month high of $250.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $233.16 and a 200-day moving average of $223.60. The stock has a market cap of $13.13 billion, a PE ratio of 24.27 and a beta of 0.39.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $285.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $362.47 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 12.85 EPS for the current year.

Ascendis Pharma A/S 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.