Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) Upgraded to Hold at Canaccord Genuity Group

Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Zacks reports.

ASND has been the subject of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Raymond James Financial cut Ascendis Pharma A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $287.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $328.00 to $326.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $305.95.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ:ASND opened at $245.15 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $242.53 and its 200-day moving average is $237.18. The company has a quick ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 2.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 12 month low of $188.07 and a 12 month high of $282.15. The firm has a market cap of $15.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.02 and a beta of 0.38.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 14th. The biotechnology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $376.75 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 3.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jean-Jacques Bienaimé acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $246.33 per share, with a total value of $492,660.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 2,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $714,357. This trade represents a 222.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mads Bodenhoff sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $810,570. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 40.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ascendis Pharma A/S

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 173.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 6,257 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,426,000 after acquiring an additional 3,967 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S in the third quarter valued at about $202,000. Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S in the third quarter valued at about $2,376,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S in the third quarter valued at about $377,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 28,468.4% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,428 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 5,409 shares in the last quarter.

About Ascendis Pharma A/S

Ascendis Pharma A/S is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for rare diseases. The company uses its proprietary TransCon technology platform to design long-acting medicines intended to improve treatment convenience, maintain controlled drug exposure, and address unmet medical needs.

Its commercial products include SKYTROFA (lonape­gsomatropin-tcgd), a once-weekly growth hormone treatment for children with growth hormone deficiency, and YORVIPATH (palopegteriparatide), a once-daily therapy for adults with hypoparathyroidism.