Ascendis Pharma saw a welcome improvement to its Relative Strength (RS) Rating on Thursday, with an upgrade from 70 to 77.

As you try to find the best stocks to buy and watch, keep a close on eye on relative price strength.

IBD's proprietary RS Rating identifies market leadership by using a 1 (worst) to 99 (best) score that identifies how a stock's price performance over the last 52 weeks compares to other publicly traded companies.

History reveals that the top-performing stocks tend to have an 80 or better RS Rating in the early stages of their moves. See if Ascendis Pharma can continue to show renewed price strength and hit that benchmark.

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Ascendis Pharma is trying to complete a cup with handle with a 178.81 buy point. See if the stock can break out in volume at least 40% above average.

Earnings growth slowed in the most recent quarter from 0% to -33%. But sales moved higher, from -64% to -25%.

The company holds the No. 94 rank among its peers in the Medical-Biomed/Biotech industry group. Horizon Therapeutics and Innoviva are also among the group's highest-rated stocks.