Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday.

ASND has been the topic of several other reports. Bank of America increased their target price on 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. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $330.00 to $326.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on 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. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $329.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ascendis Pharma A/S currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $295.67.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of ASND stock opened at $261.00 on Friday. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 1-year low of $160.86 and a 1-year high of $282.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $242.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $232.02. The firm has a market cap of $16.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.10 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $285.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $362.47 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 4.63 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Flemming Steen Jensen sold 19,460 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.49, for a total value of $4,641,015.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime acquired 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $237.80 per share, for a total transaction of $95,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,120. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 40.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ascendis Pharma A/S

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Arax Advisory Partners grew its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 212.2% in the fourth quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 153 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 111.9% during the fourth 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 period.

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.