Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) Insider Nicole White Sells 2,593 Shares of Stock

Assembly Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASMB) insider Nicole White sold 2,593 shares of Assembly Biosciences stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.62, for a total transaction of $50,874.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 59,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,162,622.34. This trade represents a 4.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Assembly Biosciences Stock Up 2.1%

NASDAQ:ASMB opened at $19.92 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $25.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.12. Assembly Biosciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $19.25 and a 52 week high of $39.71. The stock has a market cap of $405.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.13 and a beta of 1.26.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho set a $53.00 target price on shares of Assembly Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Assembly Biosciences in a report on Thursday, October 15th. HC Wainwright reiterated 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 report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.50.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 849,309 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $23,479,000 after acquiring an additional 11,384 shares during the period. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 671.5% in the 2nd quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP now owns 433,147 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,903,000 after purchasing an additional 377,000 shares in the last quarter. Stempoint Capital LP raised its holdings in Assembly Biosciences by 18.3% in the 1st quarter. Stempoint Capital LP now owns 185,435 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,146,000 after purchasing an additional 28,707 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Assembly Biosciences by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 39,446 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,095,000 after purchasing an additional 1,634 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in Assembly Biosciences by 43.7% in the 2nd 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.92% of the company’s stock.

About Assembly Biosciences

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.