Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Raises Stock Position in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Free Report) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,450,420 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 39,309 shares during the period. Ascendis Pharma A/S makes up approximately 0.9% of Artisan Partners Limited Partnership's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned 7.33% of Ascendis Pharma A/S worth $612,689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 163,888 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $22,562,000 after purchasing an additional 3,274 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 42.5% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 18,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,688,000 after buying an additional 5,371 shares during the last quarter. Maven Securities LTD purchased a new position in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 3rd quarter worth about $7,466,000. Exome Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 119.2% during the third quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC now owns 43,849 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $6,547,000 after buying an additional 23,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc grew its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 187,180 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $25,769,000 after acquiring an additional 28,967 shares during the last quarter.

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Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Performance

ASND stock traded down $5.66 on Monday, hitting $149.02. 142,802 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 464,611. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a 12-month low of $111.09 and a 12-month high of $169.37. The stock has a market cap of $9.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.99 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $144.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.34.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post -4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ASND. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $168.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.64.

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.