Insider Selling: Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) CEO Sells $121,683.24 in Stock

Assembly Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASMB) CEO Jason Okazaki sold 6,202 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.62, for a total value of $121,683.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 195,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,836,337.84. This represents a 3.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Assembly Biosciences Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:ASMB opened at $20.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $407.20 million, a PE ratio of 19.48 and a beta of 1.26. The company’s fifty day moving average is $24.92 and its 200 day moving average is $27.02. Assembly Biosciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $19.20 and a 52 week high of $39.71.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assembly Biosciences

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ASMB. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 113.3% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 10,902 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 5,792 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 69.4% in 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 last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its stake in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 88.5% in 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 last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Assembly Biosciences during the 2nd quarter valued at about $660,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in Assembly Biosciences by 43.7% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 34,214 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.