DnB Asset Management AS Lowers Stock Holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND)

DnB Asset Management AS lessened its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,586 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 403 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S were worth $494,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 4,450,420 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $612,689,000 after acquiring an additional 39,309 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 407,294 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $56,072,000 after purchasing an additional 60,548 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 3rd quarter valued at $60,000. ARS Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC now owns 265,480 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $36,549,000 after buying an additional 2,369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 204,482 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,151,000 after buying an additional 25,164 shares during the period.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Performance

Shares of ASND stock opened at $152.15 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.43 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $145.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.96. 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 the consensus estimate of ($1.32) by $0.64. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post -4.34 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASND has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group began coverage on Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 price target on Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.64.

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.