Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday morning.

Separately, HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Assembly Biosciences in a report on Monday.

Assembly Biosciences Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of ASMB opened at $11.12 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $70.68 million, a PE ratio of -1.65 and a beta of 0.62. Assembly Biosciences has a 1 year low of $10.27 and a 1 year high of $19.93. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.09.

Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.57) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.75) by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.05 million. Assembly Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 121.46% and a negative net margin of 144.05%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Assembly Biosciences will post -6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Assembly Biosciences

In related news, Director Michael Houghton acquired 3,202 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.61 per share, with a total value of $49,983.22. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,202 shares in the company, valued at $49,983.22. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assembly Biosciences

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Gilead Sciences Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Assembly Biosciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,865,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Assembly Biosciences by 44.3% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 94,711 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,495,000 after buying an additional 29,087 shares during the last quarter. Peapod Lane Capital LLC bought a new position in Assembly Biosciences in the 4th quarter valued at $994,000. B Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Assembly Biosciences in the 4th quarter valued at $799,000. Finally, Monimus Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Assembly Biosciences during the fourth quarter worth $664,000. 19.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Assembly Biosciences Company Profile

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.