Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND Stake Lifted by China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) by 54.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 15,093 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,295 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S were worth $3,442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 4.4% in the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 103.4% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 240 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 94.9% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 304 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 54.8% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 667 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $152,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mads Bodenhoff sold 3,000 shares of Ascendis Pharma A/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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $810,570. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jean-Jacques Bienaimé bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $246.33 per share, for a total transaction of $492,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $714,357. This represents a 222.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 40.00% of the company’s stock.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ:ASND opened at $253.00 on Friday. 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 1-year low of $188.07 and a 1-year high of $282.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.63 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $242.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $237.80.

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). The company had revenue of $387.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $376.75 million. Ascendis Pharma A/S had a return on equity of 32.54% and a net margin of 70.99%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ASND. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Friday, September 25th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $360.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $345.00 to $329.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $305.95.

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.