Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $126.14, but opened at $138.75. Ascendis Pharma A/S shares last traded at $144.08, with a volume of 490,196 shares changing hands.

The biotechnology company reported ($0.68) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.32) by $0.64.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on ASND shares. UBS Group assumed coverage on Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $167.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $200.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $193.43.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ascendis Pharma A/S

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 35.3% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 184,623 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $27,566,000 after purchasing an additional 48,120 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 63.8% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,142 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,664,000 after acquiring an additional 4,338 shares in the last quarter. Valence8 US LP bought a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the third quarter worth about $685,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 42.5% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 18,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 5,371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maven Securities LTD bought a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the third quarter valued at approximately $7,466,000.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Up 1.1 %

The business’s fifty day moving average is $132.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $132.36. The firm has a market cap of $8.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.83 and a beta of 0.64.

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.