Ishara Investments LP Invests $1.07 Million in Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND

Ishara Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,066,000. Ascendis Pharma A/S comprises about 1.2% of Ishara Investments LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ASND. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 2nd quarter worth $552,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 66.2% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,737 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $645,000 after acquiring an additional 1,488 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 83.4% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 201,044 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $34,700,000 after acquiring an additional 91,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 2nd quarter worth $897,000.

Insider Transactions at Ascendis Pharma A/S

In other news, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime acquired 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $237.80 per share, for a total transaction of $95,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,120. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Flemming Steen Jensen sold 19,460 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.49, for a total transaction of $4,641,015.40. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 40.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $329.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $262.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ascendis Pharma A/S presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $295.39.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ASND opened at $231.15 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $14.42 billion, a PE ratio of 26.66 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s fifty day moving average is $232.16 and its 200 day moving average is $224.09. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 52 week low of $160.86 and a 52 week 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.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $285.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $362.47 million. Research analysts anticipate that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 14.25 earnings per share for the current year.

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.