Aberdeen Group plc Sells 90,180 Shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S $ASND

Aberdeen Group plc decreased its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) by 64.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,426 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 90,180 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.08% of Ascendis Pharma A/S worth $9,826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 144.7% during the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 9,300 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,605,000 after acquiring an additional 5,500 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Ascendis Pharma A/S in the second quarter valued at $209,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 83.4% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,730 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,751,000 after acquiring an additional 9,879 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 2nd quarter worth about $682,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 291.1% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 352 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Trading Up 1.5%

NASDAQ:ASND opened at $230.21 on Friday. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 12 month low of $124.06 and a 12 month high of $242.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $216.49 and its 200 day moving average is $206.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.27 billion, a PE ratio of -52.32 and a beta of 0.44.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.64) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.58). The business had revenue of $290.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $285.35 million. Research analysts predict that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post -4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on ASND shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $322.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating and a $255.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $284.00.

Ascendis Pharma A/S 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.