Insider Selling: Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) Insider Sells $50,874.66 in Stock

Assembly Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASMB) insider Nicole White sold 2,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.62, for a total transaction of $50,874.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 59,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,162,622.34. This represents a 4.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Assembly Biosciences Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:ASMB traded up $0.41 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $19.92. The stock had a trading volume of 170,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 191,131. Assembly Biosciences, Inc. has a one year low of $19.25 and a one year high of $39.71. The company has a market capitalization of $405.59 million, a P/E ratio of 19.53 and a beta of 1.26. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.18.

Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $13.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.60 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Assembly Biosciences, Inc. will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Assembly Biosciences

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 113.3% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 10,902 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 5,792 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Assembly Biosciences by 69.4% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 15,651 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 6,411 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its holdings in Assembly Biosciences by 88.5% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 17,766 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 8,343 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Assembly Biosciences during the 2nd quarter worth $660,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in Assembly Biosciences by 43.7% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 34,214 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $940,000 after purchasing an additional 10,410 shares during the last quarter. 19.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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

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.