Assembly Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASMB) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Assembly Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASMB - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 26,300 shares, an increase of 99.2% from the April 30th total of 13,200 shares. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 25,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.0 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assembly Biosciences

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ASMB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 5,137.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,509 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 3,442 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Assembly Biosciences in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $113,000. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 57.4% in the 1st quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,986 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $172,000 after acquiring an additional 6,559 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Assembly Biosciences by 42.1% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 23,027 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 6,823 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Assembly Biosciences by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 14,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 2,098 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.92% of the company's stock.

Assembly Biosciences Trading Up 1.0%

ASMB stock traded up $0.15 on Tuesday, hitting $15.55. 8,256 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 25,862. Assembly Biosciences has a 1-year low of $7.75 and a 1-year high of $19.93. The stock has a market cap of $118.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.50 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $11.38 and a 200-day moving average of $13.15.

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, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.01) by $0.84. Assembly Biosciences had a negative net margin of 144.05% and a negative return on equity of 121.46%. The business had revenue of $9.42 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.41 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Assembly Biosciences will post -6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.