Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 2,506 Shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) by 13.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 20,506 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 2,506 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Ascendis Pharma A/S were worth $2,823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S during the 3rd quarter valued at about $60,000. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Ascendis Pharma A/S in the third quarter worth about $19,908,000. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S in the 3rd quarter valued at about $11,646,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 407,294 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $56,072,000 after purchasing an additional 60,548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maven Securities LTD purchased a new position in Ascendis Pharma A/S during the third quarter valued at approximately $7,466,000.

Ascendis Pharma A/S Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ASND opened at $152.15 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $145.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.96. The firm has a market cap of $9.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.43 and a beta of 0.61. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a one year low of $111.09 and a one year high of $169.37.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.68) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.32) by $0.64. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ascendis Pharma A/S will post -4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on ASND shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 price objective on Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ascendis Pharma A/S from $168.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group began coverage on Ascendis Pharma A/S in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Ascendis Pharma A/S from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.