5. Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND)
10-Year Revenue Growth Rate: 34.65%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 43
Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) is a biopharmaceutical company based in Denmark that focuses on developing and manufacturing medications for various health conditions including growth hormone deficiency, Endocrinology, central nervous system disorders, and infectious diseases. The company operates internationally through several subsidiaries located in countries such as Germany and the United States.
The company differentiates based on its proprietary technology platform called TransCon, which improves the efficiency of the drug by controlling how medications are released in the body over time. On January 13 Gavin Clark-Gartner from Evercore ISI maintained a Buy rating on the stock, maintaining a price target of $220. Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND), during the third quarter results for fiscal 2024 reported strong demand for its products, particularly SKYTROFA (TransCon hGH), which saw over a 60% increase in volume year-over-year due to its effectiveness and convenience compared to daily growth hormone therapies.
In addition to SKYTROFA, YORVIPATH was also a strong contender as it generated a revenue of €8.5 million during the quarter. Management on December 19 announced the launch of YORVIPATH in the United States as well, where approximately 70,000 to 90,000 adults would benefit from the treatment. It is one of the 12 high-growth international stocks to invest in now.
PGIM Jennison Health Sciences Fund stated the following regarding Argenx SE (NASDAQ:ARGX) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“Argenx SE (NASDAQ:ARGX) develops antibody-based medicines for autoimmune diseases and cancer. Its flagship drug is Vyvgart (efgartigimod), a first-in-class anti-FcRn approved in the U.S., E.U., and other key geographies globally for the treatment of myasthenia gravis (MG). The launch has far exceeded expectations, speaking to the unmet need in this category, and the company (and we) now expect MG to be a far bigger opportunity than initially modeled, generating in excess of $5b in peak sales. The recent approval of a subcutaneous formulation of Vyvgart should sustain and accelerate these strong growth trends. Vyvgart is a true “pipeline in a product,” posting very strong Phase III results in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP), which should add another $4b to peak sales. The company’s antibody discovery platform is also advancing several earlier-stage assets, with the first Phase 2 for their next potential “pipeline in a product,” empasiprubart, reading out in 2024. With both an attractive pipeline and commercial opportunity, Argenx’s near term focus has been on the global Vyvgart launch and the potential to expand on both the drug formulation (subQ) and indication sides (CIDP approval and launch in 2024, and several other autoimmune-mediated indications in trials). The company also has a partnership with Zai Lab to market Vyvgart in China, providing upside to long-term peak sales potential. Argenx also has multiple readouts for additional Vyvgart indications in 2024/2025 and relatively lower pipeline readout binary risk at this stage of the development story, given the first major indication of MG is already on the market and the second major indication of CIDP has begun to ramp in utilization. We believe Vyvgart is on track to grow sales from $2B in 2024 to approximately $8B into the early 2030’s on MG and CIDP alone. This attractive sales growth and a lean organization structure should allow the company to achieve above average growth rates for the next several years. Argenx has also recently unveiled additional molecules that we think have significant long-term potential, especially their second program, empasiprubart, which could be another blockbuster pipeline in a product and is already in mid-stage trials for its lead indication, rare neurological disease multifocal motor neuropathy, or MMN.”
