Lake Street Capital Reiterates "Hold" Rating for Assertio (NASDAQ:ASRT)

Key Points

• Lake Street Capital reiterated a Hold rating on Assertio and cut its price target to $18 (from $45), implying roughly a 0.22% downside; MarketBeat's consensus is also a Hold with a $18 target.
• Shares traded near $18.04 (market cap ~$116.35M) after Assertio posted a narrower-than-expected loss (EPS -$1.86 vs. -$3.05) and higher revenue ($13.54M vs. $6.20M), but the company remains unprofitable with negative margins and ROE and analysts forecast FY EPS of -$0.15.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own about 48.96% of the stock, with several funds recently initiating or increasing positions (e.g., Perritt, GSA Capital, Virtu).

Assertio (NASDAQ:ASRT - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold" rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Lake Street Capital in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $18.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $45.00. Lake Street Capital's price target suggests a potential downside of 0.22% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on ASRT. Zacks Research downgraded Assertio from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Assertio in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. HC Wainwright reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $18.00 target price (down from $35.00) on shares of Assertio in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Assertio from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Assertio has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $18.00.

Assertio Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ ASRT traded down $0.37 during trading on Thursday, reaching $18.04. The company had a trading volume of 454,977 shares, compared to its average volume of 86,203. Assertio has a 12-month low of $8.25 and a 12-month high of $20.45. The stock has a market cap of $116.35 million, a PE ratio of -3.71 and a beta of 0.43. The business's 50-day moving average is $13.72 and its 200 day moving average is $12.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Assertio (NASDAQ:ASRT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 16th. The company reported ($1.86) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($3.05) by $1.19. The firm had revenue of $13.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.20 million. Assertio had a negative return on equity of 30.26% and a negative net margin of 25.59%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Assertio will post -0.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assertio

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Assertio during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Assertio during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Rothschild Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Assertio during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $172,000. Perritt Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Assertio by 51.6% during the 3rd quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc now owns 350,316 shares of the company's stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 119,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its position in shares of Assertio by 536.0% during the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 381,584 shares of the company's stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 321,584 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 48.96% of the company's stock.

About Assertio

Assertio Therapeutics, Inc, formerly known as Depomed, is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of therapies for central nervous system (CNS) disorders, including neuropathic pain, migraine and breakthrough cancer pain. The company's commercial portfolio includes three FDA-approved products—Qutenza (8% capsaicin) for postherpetic neuralgia, Butrans (buprenorphine) transdermal system for chronic pain and Onsolis (fentanyl buccal soluble film) for breakthrough cancer pain—which are marketed primarily in the United States under licensing agreements with global partners.

In addition to its marketed therapies, Assertio maintains a pipeline of preclinical and clinical-stage candidates targeting a range of pain and neurological conditions.

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