Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) CEO Sells $121,683.24 in Stock

Key Points

• CEO Jason Okazaki sold 6,202 shares for $121,683, a 3.07% reduction in his position; the sale was to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards, and he retained 195,532 shares.
• Assembly Biosciences’ latest reported quarter beat analyst expectations, with a loss of $0.20 per share versus estimates of $0.72 and revenue of $13.37 million versus $8.60 million expected.
• Analysts’ consensus rating was Moderate Buy, with a $46.50 average price target; UBS lowered its target from $52 to $48 while maintaining a Buy rating.

Assembly Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASMB - Get Free Report) CEO Jason Okazaki sold 6,202 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.62, for a total value of $121,683.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 195,532 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,836,337.84. This trade represents a 3.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Assembly Biosciences Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of ASMB traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $19.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 170,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 191,131. Assembly Biosciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.25 and a 1-year high of $39.71. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.18. The stock has a market cap of $405.59 million, a P/E ratio of 19.53 and a beta of 1.26.

Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.72) by $0.52. The business had revenue of $13.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.60 million. Assembly Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 0.02% and a negative net margin of 0.06%. Research analysts anticipate that Assembly Biosciences, Inc. will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASMB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Mizuho set a $53.00 price target on shares of Assembly Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. UBS Group decreased their target price on Assembly Biosciences from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Assembly Biosciences in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Assembly Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Assembly Biosciences from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assembly Biosciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASMB. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 4.3% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 39,446 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,095,000 after buying an additional 1,634 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 113.3% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 10,902 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 5,792 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 69.4% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 15,651 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 6,411 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its holdings in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 88.5% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 17,766 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $488,000 after acquiring an additional 8,343 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in Assembly Biosciences by 43.7% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 34,214 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $940,000 after acquiring an additional 10,410 shares during the last quarter. 19.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Assembly Biosciences

Here are the key news stories impacting Assembly Biosciences this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS cut its price target to $48 from $52 but maintained its Buy rating. The revised target remains well above the share price cited in the report, suggesting the firm sees substantial potential upside. UBS price target and rating
• Neutral Sentiment: The reported sales by CEO Jason Okazaki and three other insiders were described as covering tax withholding obligations tied to equity vesting, which makes them less clearly bearish than discretionary sales. CEO SEC filing Anuj Gaggar SEC filing Nicole White SEC filing Jeanette Bjorkquist SEC filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Assembly Biosciences said management will participate in investor conferences in November; the announcement did not include new business or clinical updates. Investor conference announcement

Assembly Biosciences Company Profile

Assembly Biosciences, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing oral therapeutics for serious viral infections. The company's research programs target chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and herpesvirus infections, including herpes simplex virus (HSV), with the goal of addressing diseases for which existing treatments may not provide adequate cures or long-term control.

Assembly's pipeline includes novel antiviral candidates designed to interfere with essential stages of viral replication.

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