Defilade Capital Management L.P. Trims Stock Position in Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND

Defilade Capital Management L.P. cut its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) by 39.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,895 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 33,799 shares during the quarter. Ascendis Pharma A/S comprises about 1.7% of Defilade Capital Management L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Defilade Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S were worth $11,870,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in Ascendis Pharma A/S in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Arax Advisory Partners boosted its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 212.2% during the 4th 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 purchased a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 111.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 214 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jean Jacques Bienaime bought 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $237.80 per share, with a total value of $95,120.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,120. The trade was a ? increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 40.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on ASND. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $256.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $329.00 price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ascendis Pharma A/S from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Citigroup started coverage on Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Monday, May 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $355.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ascendis Pharma A/S presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $296.72.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Price Performance

ASND stock opened at $243.91 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $244.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $235.09. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 52-week low of $167.27 and a 52-week high of $282.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.13 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.00.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $285.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $362.47 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal 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.