Assembly Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASMB) Short Interest Down 7.9% in October

Assembly Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASMB) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,400 shares, a drop of 7.9% from the September 30th total of 17,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 25,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.6 days. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Activity

In other Assembly Biosciences news, major shareholder Alexander Schornstein acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $14.58 per share, with a total value of $145,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 703,113 shares in the company, valued at $10,251,387.54. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assembly Biosciences

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ASMB. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 131.0% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 13,558 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $184,000 after buying an additional 7,690 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 39.2% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 54,911 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $753,000 after buying an additional 15,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Assembly Biosciences during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,421,000. Institutional investors own 19.92% of the company’s stock.

Assembly Biosciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ ASMB opened at $17.71 on Wednesday. Assembly Biosciences has a 12 month low of $7.69 and a 12 month high of $19.93. The company’s 50 day moving average is $16.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.05.

Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.98) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.96) by $0.98. The firm had revenue of $8.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.96 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Assembly Biosciences will post -7.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ASMB shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Assembly Biosciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $2.00 to $35.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Assembly Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, September 24th.

About Assembly Biosciences

Assembly Biosciences, Inc, a biotechnology company, develops therapeutic candidates for the treatment of viral diseases. It develops ABI-5366, a long-acting herpes simplex virus (HSV) helicase-primase inhibitor that is in Phase 1a/1b clinical trial to treat recurrent genital herpes; ABI-1179, which is in Phase 1a/1b clinical trial for the treatment of recurrent genital herpes; and ABI-6250, a small molecule orally bioavailable hepatitis delta virus entry inhibitor that is in Phase 1a clinical trial.