Royal Bank of Canada Initiates Coverage on Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND)

Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $205.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target suggests a potential upside of 24.20% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on ASND. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $168.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.67.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Price Performance

NASDAQ ASND opened at $165.05 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $151.09 and its 200-day moving average is $138.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.25 and a beta of 0.54. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a one year low of $111.09 and a one year high of $169.37.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.68) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.32) by $0.64. Research analysts expect that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post -4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ascendis Pharma A/S

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC grew its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 163,888 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $22,562,000 after acquiring an additional 3,274 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc grew its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 187,180 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,769,000 after purchasing an additional 28,967 shares during the last quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC raised its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 119.2% in the 3rd quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC now owns 43,849 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,547,000 after purchasing an additional 23,849 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 58.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 583 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 540.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 506 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the last quarter.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Company Profile

Ascendis Pharma A/S, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing therapies for unmet medical needs. It offers SKYTROFA for treating patients with growth hormone deficiency (GHD). The company is also developing a pipeline of three independent endocrinology rare disease product candidates in clinical development, as well as focuses on advancing oncology therapeutic candidates.