Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Makes New $18.68 Million Investment in Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 93,947 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,678,000. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. owned about 0.15% of Ascendis Pharma A/S as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vident Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 1st quarter worth approximately $273,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 1st quarter worth $51,029,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 11.5% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,190 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 949 shares during the last quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the first quarter valued at $1,191,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted 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 valued at $91,269,000 after buying an additional 55,164 shares during the last quarter.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of ASND stock opened at $213.24 on Friday. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 12 month low of $118.03 and a 12 month high of $229.94. The stock has a market cap of $13.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -48.03 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $206.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $194.96.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.41) by ($0.76). The firm had revenue of $250.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $246.91 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post -4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $254.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $256.73.

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.