Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) Raised to "Hold" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Assembly Biosciences has been upgraded to a "hold" rating by Zacks Research, reflecting a positive sentiment towards the stock.
• HC Wainwright initiated coverage with a "buy" rating and a target price of $50.00, while the average price target among analysts is currently $38.67.
• The company's latest quarterly earnings showed a stronger than expected performance, with reported revenue of $9.63 million surpassing analysts' expectations of $5.30 million.

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB - Free Report) to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday, August 19th,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, HC Wainwright initiated coverage on shares of Assembly Biosciences in a report on Monday, August 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $38.67.

Assembly Biosciences Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:ASMB traded down $0.69 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $25.93. The company had a trading volume of 37,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 40,598. The company's 50 day moving average price is $19.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.87. The stock has a market cap of $198.88 million, a P/E ratio of -4.65 and a beta of 0.64. Assembly Biosciences has a 52-week low of $7.75 and a 52-week high of $27.17.

Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.33) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.73) by $0.40. The company had revenue of $9.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.30 million. Assembly Biosciences had a negative net margin of 117.20% and a negative return on equity of 149.01%. Research analysts forecast that Assembly Biosciences will post -6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 3.8% in the second quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,667 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 14,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 2,098 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 6.9% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 51,015 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,312 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Assembly Biosciences by 42.1% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 23,027 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 6,823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Assembly Biosciences by 225.6% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,427 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $180,000 after buying an additional 7,918 shares in the last quarter. 19.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.