The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $6.51 Million Position in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) by 12.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,712 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 6,814 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.08% of Ascendis Pharma A/S worth $6,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Private Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 52.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 298 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 61.0% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 876 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Barometer Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 4th quarter worth approximately $126,000. Finally, Searle & CO. bought a new stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $205,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ASND shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $174.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $191.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $175.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Ascendis Pharma A/S from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Two 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $195.00.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Performance

ASND stock opened at $142.67 on Friday. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 52 week low of $85.29 and a 52 week high of $161.00. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $135.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.41. The company has a market capitalization of $8.31 billion, a PE ratio of -14.85 and a beta of 0.64.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 3rd. The biotechnology company reported ($2.05) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.54) by ($0.51). The company had revenue of $38.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.74 million. Ascendis Pharma A/S had a negative return on equity of 16,574.15% and a negative net margin of 154.18%. On average, analysts forecast that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post -7.15 EPS for the current year.

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.