Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Has $22.56 Million Position in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND)

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC lifted its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 163,888 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 3,274 shares during the quarter. Ascendis Pharma A/S comprises 1.2% of Rice Hall James & Associates LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC owned 0.27% of Ascendis Pharma A/S worth $22,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ASND. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 415.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 407 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S during the third quarter worth approximately $60,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 58.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 583 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Ascendis Pharma A/S by 13.2% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 686 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ASND traded down $2.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $152.43. The stock had a trading volume of 444,151 shares, compared to its average volume of 513,993. The business's fifty day moving average is $134.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $133.07. The company has a market cap of $9.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.47 and a beta of 0.64. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a twelve month low of $111.09 and a twelve month high of $161.00.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.68) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.32) by $0.64. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post -4.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Ascendis Pharma A/S from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $181.00 target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Ascendis Pharma A/S in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $160.00 to $153.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $197.36.

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.