Ascendis Pharma stock tanks on earnings miss

Investing.com -- Shares of Ascendis Pharma (NASDAQ:ASND) dropped in post-market hours on Wednesday following the company’s second-quarter earnings report, which fell short of analysts' estimates.

Ascendis Pharma's stock plunged in after-hours trading, down 18% by 3:03 am (0703 GMT)

The Denmark-based company reported a net loss that narrowed to €109.4 million, from €121.4 million in the same quarter last year.

“We increase GTN (gross to net) in our model starting from Q2'24, lowering our PT to $174,” said analysts at Jefferies in a note.å

“For Yorvipath, we remain positive for its US launch. TransCon CNP's data now expected in Q3'24 and Q1'25 for combo, which could expand ASND's product portfolio,” the analysts said.

Revenue for the quarter dropped by 24% to €36 million. 

“​​Results in the quarter were primarily impacted by a negative adjustment to prior periods’ estimates and assumptions for sales deductions of €27.1 million, where €19.5 million and €7.6 million were attributable to the three months ended March 31, 2024, and periods prior to January 1, 2024, respectively,” the company said in a statement. 

Separately, Ascendis Pharma announced a $150 million capped synthetic royalty funding deal with Royalty Pharma of New York, tied to U.S. sales of Yorvipath, a treatment for hypoparathyroidism in adults.

Under the agreement, Ascendis will receive an upfront payment of $150 million in exchange for a 3% royalty on U.S. net sales of Yorvipath.

Royalty payments to Royalty Pharma will terminate once the payments reach a multiple of 2x, or 1.65x if Royalty Pharma receives that amount by December 31, 2029.