Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) Insider Sells 727 Shares of Stock

Assembly Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASMB) insider Jeanette Bjorkquist sold 727 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.62, for a total transaction of $14,263.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 17,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $346,744.26. This trade represents a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 ASMB traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $19.92. The stock had a trading volume of 170,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 191,131. The firm has a market cap of $405.59 million, a PE ratio of 19.53 and a beta of 1.26. Assembly Biosciences, Inc. has a one year low of $19.25 and a one year high of $39.71. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.18.

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. Assembly Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 0.02% and a negative net margin of 0.06%. The business had revenue of $13.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.60 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Assembly Biosciences, Inc. will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASMB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Assembly Biosciences from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed 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 report on Thursday, August 20th. Mizuho set a $53.00 target price on Assembly Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Assembly Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Assembly Biosciences has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.50.

Assembly Biosciences News Roundup

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 Investors Weigh In On Assembly Biosciences

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASMB. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its stake in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 88.5% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 17,766 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $488,000 after acquiring an additional 8,343 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 10,410 shares during the period. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in 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 worth $11,903,000 after buying an additional 377,000 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Assembly Biosciences in the 2nd quarter valued at about $660,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Assembly Biosciences by 113.3% in the 1st 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.