Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND is Perceptive Advisors LLC’s 3rd Largest Position

Perceptive Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) by 41.6% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,531,421 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 450,000 shares during the period. Ascendis Pharma A/S makes up 6.8% of Perceptive Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Perceptive Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S were worth $350,282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Health Investments LP purchased a new position in Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $19,819,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 39.3% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 51,135 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $11,696,000 after acquiring an additional 14,438 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 1st quarter valued at $207,000. Finally, Castleark Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 1.9% during the first quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 67,616 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $15,466,000 after acquiring an additional 1,280 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Flemming Steen Jensen sold 19,460 shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.49, for a total transaction of $4,641,015.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime acquired 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were bought 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 directly owned 400 shares in the company, 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 owned by insiders.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of NASDAQ ASND opened at $243.91 on Friday. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 12 month low of $167.27 and a 12 month high of $282.15. 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 $15.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.13 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50-day moving average of $244.95 and a 200-day moving average of $234.90.

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 company had revenue of $285.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $362.47 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASND has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price target on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $262.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered Ascendis Pharma A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Monday, May 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $355.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $342.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $329.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Friday, May 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ascendis Pharma A/S presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $296.72.

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.