Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) Insider Anuj Gaggar Sells 2,593 Shares of Stock

Assembly Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASMB) insider Anuj Gaggar sold 2,593 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.62, for a total transaction of $50,874.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 53,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,055,556. This trade represents a 4.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 stock traded up $0.41 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $19.92. 170,887 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 191,131. The company has a market capitalization of $405.59 million, a P/E ratio of 19.53 and a beta of 1.26. Assembly Biosciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.25 and a 1 year high of $39.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $25.84 and its 200 day moving average is $27.18.

Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by $0.52. The firm had revenue of $13.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.60 million. Assembly Biosciences had a negative net margin of 0.06% and a negative return on equity of 0.02%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Assembly Biosciences, Inc. will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Assembly Biosciences

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASMB. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its position in Assembly Biosciences by 88.5% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 17,766 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 8,343 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $940,000 after buying an additional 10,410 shares during the last quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 671.5% in the second quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP now owns 433,147 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,903,000 after buying an additional 377,000 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Assembly Biosciences in the second quarter worth about $660,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 113.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 10,902 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 5,792 shares during the last quarter. 19.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories 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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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