Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) Insider Jeanette Bjorkquist Sells 727 Shares of Stock

Assembly Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASMB) insider Jeanette Bjorkquist sold 727 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.62, for a total value of $14,263.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 17,673 shares in the company, valued at $346,744.26. This represents a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Assembly Biosciences Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of Assembly Biosciences stock opened at $19.92 on Wednesday. Assembly Biosciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.25 and a 12 month high of $39.71. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.12. The stock has a market cap of $405.57 million, a PE ratio of 19.13 and a beta of 1.26.

Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.72) by $0.52. Assembly Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 0.02% and a negative net margin of 0.06%. The business had revenue of $13.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.60 million. Analysts expect that Assembly Biosciences, Inc. will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

More Assembly Biosciences News

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

• Neutral Sentiment: UBS lowered its price target to $48 from $52 but kept its Buy rating, leaving a favorable recommendation alongside a more cautious valuation. UBS price target update
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Jason Okazaki and three other insiders sold shares, but the reported sales were to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards—rather than identified open-market sales. The transactions may draw attention but provide limited evidence of a change in company outlook. CEO SEC filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Assembly Biosciences said senior management will participate in one-on-one meetings and present at investor conferences in November; no new business or clinical update was announced. Conference announcement

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on ASMB shares. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Assembly Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Zacks Research raised shares of Assembly Biosciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Assembly Biosciences in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Assembly Biosciences from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho set a $53.00 target price on shares of Assembly Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Assembly Biosciences has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.50.

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.