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

Shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading 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 trading hands.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $181.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $191.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $180.00 to $174.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $175.00 to $191.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $191.77.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ascendis Pharma A/S

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASND. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S during the first quarter worth approximately $288,000. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 9.9% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,025 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $608,000 after buying an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 4,075,214 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $616,050,000 after acquiring an additional 44,580 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 1,461.1% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 250,492 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $37,849,000 after purchasing an additional 234,446 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 61.0% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 876 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Price Performance

The business's 50-day simple moving average is $132.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $132.70. The company has a market cap of $7.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.59 and a beta of 0.66.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 3rd. The biotechnology company reported ($2.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.54) by ($0.51). The firm had revenue of $38.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.74 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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.