Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) Stock: Insider Jason Okazaki Sells 6,202 Shares

Assembly Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASMB) CEO Jason Okazaki sold 6,202 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.62, for a total transaction of $121,683.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 195,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,836,337.84. This trade represents a 3.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Assembly Biosciences Stock Performance

Shares of ASMB traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $19.92. 170,887 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 191,131. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.18. Assembly Biosciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $19.25 and a 52 week high of $39.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $405.59 million, a PE ratio of 19.53 and a beta of 1.26.

Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.72) by $0.52. Assembly Biosciences had a negative net margin of 0.06% and a negative return on equity of 0.02%. The business had revenue of $13.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.60 million. On average, analysts predict that Assembly Biosciences, Inc. will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Assembly Biosciences News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Assembly Biosciences this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS cut its price target to $48 from $52 but maintained its Buy rating. The revised target remains well above the share price cited in the report, suggesting the firm sees substantial potential upside. UBS price target and rating
• Neutral Sentiment: The reported sales by CEO Jason Okazaki and three other insiders were described as covering tax withholding obligations tied to equity vesting, which makes them less clearly bearish than discretionary sales. CEO SEC filing Anuj Gaggar SEC filing Nicole White SEC filing Jeanette Bjorkquist SEC filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Assembly Biosciences said management will participate in investor conferences in November; the announcement did not include new business or clinical updates. Investor conference announcement

Institutional Trading of Assembly Biosciences

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASMB. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 671.5% during the second quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP now owns 433,147 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,903,000 after buying an additional 377,000 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Assembly Biosciences in the 2nd quarter valued at about $660,000. Stempoint Capital LP lifted its stake in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 18.3% in the 1st quarter. Stempoint Capital LP now owns 185,435 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,146,000 after acquiring an additional 28,707 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its holdings in Assembly Biosciences by 88.5% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 17,766 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $488,000 after acquiring an additional 8,343 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in Assembly Biosciences by 43.7% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 34,214 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $940,000 after acquiring an additional 10,410 shares during the period. 19.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASMB has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho set a $53.00 price target on shares of Assembly Biosciences in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Assembly Biosciences in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Zacks Research upgraded Assembly Biosciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Assembly Biosciences in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Assembly Biosciences from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Assembly Biosciences presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.50.

About Assembly Biosciences

Assembly Biosciences, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing oral therapeutics for serious viral infections. The company’s research programs target chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and herpesvirus infections, including herpes simplex virus (HSV), with the goal of addressing diseases for which existing treatments may not provide adequate cures or long-term control.

Assembly’s pipeline includes novel antiviral candidates designed to interfere with essential stages of viral replication.