ASND vs. ICLR: Ascendis Pharma vs. ICON Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Ascendis Pharma (ASND) and ICON (ICLR) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Ascendis Pharma (ASND) and ICON (ICLR) both fall under the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group, but ASND is classified in Biotechnology while ICLR is classified in Life Sciences Tools & Services.

Company profile comparison for Ascendis Pharma (ASND) and ICON (ICLR)
Profile Item	ASND	ICLR
Name	Ascendis Pharma A/S	ICON plc
Country/Region	Denmark	Ireland
GICS Sector	Health Care	Health Care
GICS Industry Group	Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences	Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences
GICS Industry	Biotechnology	Life Sciences Tools & Services
GICS Sub-Industry	Biotechnology	Life Sciences Tools & Services
Market Capitalization	16.90 billion USD	15.34 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	Nasdaq
Listing Date	January 28, 2015	May 15, 1998
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

ASND

ICLR

GSPC

Ascendis Pharma (ASND) vs. ICON (ICLR), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Ascendis Pharma (ASND) and ICON (ICLR). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Ascendis Pharma (ASND) and ICON (ICLR). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Ascendis Pharma (ASND) and ICON (ICLR)
Metric	ASND	ICLR
Total Return (1Y)	29.46%	30.55%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	40.62%	-6.05%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	10.03%	-5.40%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

ASND

ICLR

GSPC

Ascendis Pharma (ASND) vs. ICON (ICLR), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Ascendis Pharma (ASND) and ICON (ICLR). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Ascendis Pharma (ASND) and ICON (ICLR)
Metric	ASND	ICLR
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	38.62%	68.62%
Beta (5Y)	0.38	1.17
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-55.93%	-76.87%
Avg. Volume (3M)	698.39K	943.50K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

ASND and ICLR are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Ascendis Pharma (ASND) and ICON (ICLR)
Metric	ASND	ICLR
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.65	0.38
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.99	0.52

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Ascendis Pharma (ASND) at 118.78% clears its industry range for ROE, a sharper capital-efficiency signal than ICON (ICLR) at 4.70%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

ASND

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

118.78%

ASND: 118.78%
Max: 109.18%
Q3: 6.23%
Median: -26.66%
Q1: -64.05%
Min: -167.77%

ICLR

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

4.70%

Max: 109.18%
Q3: 6.23%
ICLR: 4.70%
Median: -26.66%
Q1: -64.05%
Min: -167.77%

Ascendis Pharma (ASND) vs. ICON (ICLR): A comparison of their ROE against the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Ascendis Pharma (ASND) at 70.85% keeps the most of each sales dollar — above its industry’s net margin range — and ICON (ICLR) at 5.26% also retains a top-quartile share.

ASND

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

70.85%

ASND: 70.85%
Max: 18.05%
Q3: 4.78%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: -4.14%
Min: -17.05%

ICLR

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

5.26%

Max: 18.05%
ICLR: 5.26%
Q3: 4.78%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: -4.14%
Min: -17.05%

Ascendis Pharma (ASND) vs. ICON (ICLR): A comparison of their net margin against the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Ascendis Pharma (ASND) at 64.98% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of ICON (ICLR) at 10.73%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

ASND

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

64.98%

Max: 83.12%
ASND: 64.98%
Q3: 14.77%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: -78.82%
Min: -207.40%

ICLR

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

10.73%

Max: 83.12%
Q3: 14.77%
ICLR: 10.73%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: -78.82%
Min: -207.40%

Ascendis Pharma (ASND) vs. ICON (ICLR): A comparison of their operating margin against the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Ascendis Pharma (ASND) and ICON (ICLR)
Metric	ASND	ICLR
ROE (TTM)	118.78%	4.70%
ROA (TTM)	9.58%	0.85%
Net Margin (TTM)	70.85%	5.26%
Operating Margin (TTM)	64.98%	10.73%
Gross Margin (TTM)	91.30%	23.44%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Ascendis Pharma (ASND) at 98.03% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while ICON (ICLR) at 0.76% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for ASND.

Ascendis Pharma (ASND) vs. ICON (ICLR): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Only one side can be read here: ICON (ICLR) reports EPS growth of -71.56%, ranked against its industry; Ascendis Pharma (ASND) has no EPS growth figure this period.

Ascendis Pharma (ASND) vs. ICON (ICLR): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Ascendis Pharma (ASND) and ICON (ICLR)
Metric	ASND	ICLR
Revenue Growth (YoY)	98.03%	0.76%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	141.43%	2.15%
EPS Growth (YoY)	--	-71.56%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	-23.82%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Ascendis Pharma (ASND) at 2.99 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while ICON (ICLR) at 1.32 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for ICLR.

ASND

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

2.99

Max: 25.13
Q3: 12.13
Median: 5.52
ASND: 2.99
Q1: 2.47
Min: 0.10

ICLR

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

1.32

Max: 25.13
Q3: 12.13
Median: 5.52
Q1: 2.47
ICLR: 1.32
Min: 0.10

Ascendis Pharma (ASND) vs. ICON (ICLR): A comparison of their current ratio against the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Ascendis Pharma (ASND) at 0.31 and ICON (ICLR) at 0.38 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

ASND

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

0.31

Max: 1.42
Q3: 0.65
ASND: 0.31
Median: 0.15
Q1: 0.02
Min: 0.00

ICLR

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

0.38

Max: 1.42
Q3: 0.65
ICLR: 0.38
Median: 0.15
Q1: 0.02
Min: 0.00

Ascendis Pharma (ASND) vs. ICON (ICLR): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Ascendis Pharma (ASND) and ICON (ICLR)
Metric	ASND	ICLR
Current Ratio (MRQ)	2.99	1.32
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.31	0.38
Net Debt / EBITDA	-1.37	5.55

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Neither Ascendis Pharma (ASND) nor ICON (ICLR) pays a dividend this period — they may reinvest, use buybacks, or simply not return cash through dividends.

ASND

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

0.00%

ASND: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

ICLR

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

0.00%

ICLR: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Ascendis Pharma (ASND) vs. ICON (ICLR): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Neither Ascendis Pharma (ASND) nor ICON (ICLR) pays a dividend this period — they may reinvest, use buybacks, or simply not return cash through dividends.

ASND

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

0.00%

ASND: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

ICLR

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

0.00%

ICLR: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Ascendis Pharma (ASND) vs. ICON (ICLR): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Ascendis Pharma (ASND) and ICON (ICLR)
Metric	ASND	ICLR
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Ascendis Pharma (ASND) at 19.68 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while ICON (ICLR) at 81.90 sits in the richer quartile — ICLR needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

ASND

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

19.68

Max: 85.34
Q3: 43.46
Median: 26.69
ASND: 19.68
Q1: 13.30
Min: 0.07

ICLR

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

81.90

Max: 85.34
ICLR: 81.90
Q3: 43.46
Median: 26.69
Q1: 13.30
Min: 0.07

Ascendis Pharma (ASND) vs. ICON (ICLR): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

ICON (ICLR) at 1.86 sits in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile while Ascendis Pharma (ASND) at 16.14 prices around its industry’s middle — ICLR costs less per dollar of sales, though read it alongside growth and margins.

ASND

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

16.14

Max: 58.18
Q3: 25.77
ASND: 16.14
Median: 7.30
Q1: 3.01
Min: 0.01

ICLR

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

1.86

Max: 58.18
Q3: 25.77
Median: 7.30
Q1: 3.01
ICLR: 1.86
Min: 0.01

Ascendis Pharma (ASND) vs. ICON (ICLR): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

ICON (ICLR) at 1.68 looks cheap against book in the lower P/B ratio quartile, while Ascendis Pharma (ASND) at 10.45 carries a premium in the upper quartile — a clear price-to-book gap.

ASND

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

10.45

Max: 13.53
ASND: 10.45
Q3: 6.54
Median: 3.25
Q1: 1.69
Min: -5.59

ICLR

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

1.68

Max: 13.53
Q3: 6.54
Median: 3.25
Q1: 1.69
ICLR: 1.68
Min: -5.59

Ascendis Pharma (ASND) vs. ICON (ICLR): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Ascendis Pharma (ASND) and ICON (ICLR)
Metric	ASND	ICLR
P/E Ratio (TTM)	19.68	81.90
P/S Ratio (TTM)	16.14	1.86
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	10.45	1.68
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	0.08%	3.51%