Assembly Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASMB) Short Interest Up 42.6% in September

Assembly Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASMB) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 23,100 shares, a growth of 42.6% from the August 31st total of 16,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 21,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days. Approximately 0.5% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Assembly Biosciences Stock Performance

Shares of ASMB stock traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $15.79. 18,491 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 23,177. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $15.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.56. Assembly Biosciences has a 52 week low of $7.69 and a 52 week high of $20.04.

Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.98) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.96) by $0.98. The company had revenue of $8.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.96 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Assembly Biosciences will post -7.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Assembly Biosciences news, major shareholder Alexander Schornstein bought 4,562 shares of Assembly Biosciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $12.29 per share, for a total transaction of $56,066.98. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 688,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,463,815.75. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Assembly Biosciences

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 131.0% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Assembly Biosciences by 39.2% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 54,911 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $753,000 after acquiring an additional 15,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC bought a new position in Assembly Biosciences during the second quarter worth $6,421,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.92% of the company’s stock.

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.