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

Assembly Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASMB) insider Anuj Gaggar sold 2,593 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.62, for a total value of $50,874.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 53,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,055,556. The trade was a 4.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Assembly Biosciences Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of ASMB opened at $20.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $407.20 million, a PE ratio of 19.48 and a beta of 1.26. Assembly Biosciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.20 and a 12-month high of $39.71. The business’s 50 day moving average is $24.92 and its 200 day moving average is $27.02.

Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by $0.52. The firm had revenue of $13.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.60 million. Assembly Biosciences had a negative net margin of 0.06% and a negative return on equity of 0.02%. Equities research analysts predict that Assembly Biosciences, Inc. will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Assembly Biosciences from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Assembly Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Assembly Biosciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Assembly Biosciences in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Mizuho set a $53.00 target price on shares of Assembly Biosciences in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.50.

Institutional Trading of Assembly Biosciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Assembly Biosciences by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 849,309 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $23,479,000 after buying an additional 11,384 shares during the last quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 377,000 shares during the last quarter. Stempoint Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 18.3% during the first 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. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 4.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 39,446 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,095,000 after acquiring an additional 1,634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 43.7% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.92% of the company’s stock.

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.