Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) gapped down before the market opened on Friday after TD Cowen lowered their price target on the stock from $160.00 to $153.00. The stock had previously closed at $124.28, but opened at $118.98. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. Ascendis Pharma A/S shares last traded at $132.58, with a volume of 236,707 shares traded.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on ASND. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $174.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $191.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Ascendis Pharma A/S from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $191.77.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ascendis Pharma A/S

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASND. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S during the third quarter valued at $19,908,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Ascendis Pharma A/S during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,101,000. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the third quarter worth approximately $60,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 42.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 18,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 5,371 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 3rd quarter valued at $886,000.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $7.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.59 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $132.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $132.70.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 3rd. The biotechnology company reported ($2.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.54) by ($0.51). The business had revenue of $38.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.74 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post -7.35 EPS 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.