Assembly Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASMB) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Assembly Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASMB - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,900 shares, a drop of 47.1% from the May 15th total of 26,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 24,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.6 days. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Assembly Biosciences Price Performance

Shares of ASMB stock traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $17.14. The stock had a trading volume of 18,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 26,240. Assembly Biosciences has a fifty-two week low of $7.75 and a fifty-two week high of $19.93. The firm has a market cap of $130.95 million, a PE ratio of -2.75 and a beta of 0.55. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $13.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.26.

Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.17) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.01) by $0.84. Assembly Biosciences had a negative net margin of 124.15% and a negative return on equity of 131.77%. The company had revenue of $9.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.41 million. On average, analysts expect that Assembly Biosciences will post -6.87 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Assembly Biosciences in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Assembly Biosciences in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Assembly Biosciences from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th.

Institutional Trading of Assembly Biosciences

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ASMB. Gilead Sciences Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Assembly Biosciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,865,000. B Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Assembly Biosciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $799,000. Monimus Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Assembly Biosciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $664,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 44.3% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 94,711 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,495,000 after purchasing an additional 29,087 shares during the period. Finally, Man Group plc acquired a new stake in shares of Assembly Biosciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $309,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.92% of the company's stock.

Assembly Biosciences Company Profile

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.