Assembly Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASMB) Stock Has Average Target Price of $47.50 According to Analysts

Assembly Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASMB) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.50.

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on Assembly Biosciences from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Zacks Research raised Assembly Biosciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Assembly Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Assembly Biosciences in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Mizuho set a $53.00 price objective on Assembly Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, September 1st.

Key Stories Impacting Assembly Biosciences

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains broadly favorable: the reported consensus price target is $47.50, well above the recent share price, although targets are estimates and not a guarantee of future performance. Consensus price target report
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS cut its price target to $48 from $52, but maintained its Buy rating. The lower target signals a more cautious valuation, while the continued Buy rating remains supportive. UBS price target update
• Neutral Sentiment: The CEO and three other insiders sold shares, including CEO Jason Okazaki, but the sales were reported as covering tax withholding obligations tied to vested equity awards. That makes them less indicative of a negative outlook than discretionary selling. SEC insider transaction filing

Insider Buying and Selling at Assembly Biosciences

In other Assembly Biosciences news, CEO Jason Okazaki sold 6,202 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 195,532 shares in the company, valued at $3,836,337.84. This trade represents a 3.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Anuj Gaggar sold 2,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider owned 53,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,055,556. The trade was a 4.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 12,115 shares of company stock worth $237,696 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Assembly Biosciences

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its stake in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 88.5% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 17,766 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 8,343 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in 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 last quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP boosted 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 purchasing an additional 377,000 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Assembly Biosciences during the second quarter valued at approximately $660,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake 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 valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 5,792 shares during the period. 19.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Assembly Biosciences Trading Down 0.3%

Assembly Biosciences stock opened at $19.87 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $404.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.53 and a beta of 1.26. Assembly Biosciences has a 12 month low of $19.25 and a 12 month high of $39.71. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.07.

Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $13.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.60 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Assembly Biosciences will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Assembly Biosciences Company Profile

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.