Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Has $22.56 Million Stock Holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND)

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 163,888 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,274 shares during the period. Ascendis Pharma A/S accounts for 1.2% of Rice Hall James & Associates LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC owned 0.27% of Ascendis Pharma A/S worth $22,562,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASND. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 13.2% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 686 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 63.8% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,142 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,664,000 after purchasing an additional 4,338 shares during the last quarter. Pursue Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ascendis Pharma A/S during the third quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 67.2% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 87,302 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $13,035,000 after purchasing an additional 35,102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jackson Square Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the third quarter worth $1,441,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ASND. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $200.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $160.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $167.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $193.43.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ASND opened at $144.08 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $8.74 billion, a PE ratio of -17.83 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a fifty day moving average of $132.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $132.39. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 52-week low of $111.09 and a 52-week high of $161.00.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.68) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.32) by $0.64. Analysts predict that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post -7.12 earnings per share for the current year.

About Ascendis Pharma A/S

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.