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

Assembly Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASMB - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 17,100 shares, a decrease of 17.4% from the March 15th total of 20,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 28,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.6 days. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ASMB. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Assembly Biosciences by 29.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,855 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 3,635 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 3,442 shares during the last quarter. Peapod Lane Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Assembly Biosciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $994,000. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Assembly Biosciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $180,000. Finally, Monimus Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Assembly Biosciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $664,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.92% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASMB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Assembly Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Assembly Biosciences in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Assembly Biosciences from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th.

Assembly Biosciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ASMB traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $10.51. The company had a trading volume of 3,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,466. Assembly Biosciences has a 1-year low of $7.75 and a 1-year high of $19.93. The company has a market capitalization of $78.86 million, a PE ratio of -1.56 and a beta of 0.65. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $10.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.93.

Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.57) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.75) by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.05 million. Assembly Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 121.46% and a negative net margin of 144.05%. On average, analysts expect that Assembly Biosciences will post -6.87 EPS for the current year.

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.