Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND Shares Sold by Rice Hall James & Associates LLC

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC reduced its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 147,090 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 13,020 shares during the period. Ascendis Pharma A/S makes up 1.6% of Rice Hall James & Associates LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC’s holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S were worth $29,243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. RA Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. now owns 10,281,496 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,602,474,000 after buying an additional 168,752 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 1.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,901,843 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $328,258,000 after acquiring an additional 23,926 shares in the last quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the second quarter worth about $166,367,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 10.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 585,581 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $91,269,000 after purchasing an additional 55,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 530,809 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $91,619,000 after purchasing an additional 68,638 shares during the last quarter.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of ASND opened at $208.98 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $206.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $193.84. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a twelve month low of $118.03 and a twelve month high of $229.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.94 billion, a PE ratio of -47.07 and a beta of 0.45.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.17) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.41) by ($0.76). The firm had revenue of $250.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $246.91 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post -4.34 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating and a $255.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $260.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ascendis Pharma A/S has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $256.73.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Company 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.