Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) Coverage Initiated at Guggenheim

Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) in a report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $31.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Assembly Biosciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Assembly Biosciences in a report on Monday.

Assembly Biosciences Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of ASMB opened at $10.90 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $81.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.62 and a beta of 0.62. Assembly Biosciences has a twelve month low of $10.27 and a twelve month high of $19.93. The company has a 50 day moving average of $12.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.99.

Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Assembly Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 121.46% and a negative net margin of 144.05%. The business had revenue of $7.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.05 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Assembly Biosciences will post -6.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael Houghton purchased 3,202 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.61 per share, for a total transaction of $49,983.22. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,983.22. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 5.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Man Group plc purchased a new position in shares of Assembly Biosciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $309,000. B Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Assembly Biosciences during the 4th quarter worth $799,000. Gilead Sciences Inc. purchased a new position in Assembly Biosciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,865,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Assembly Biosciences by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 14,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 2,098 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Assembly Biosciences by 44.3% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 94,711 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,495,000 after purchasing an additional 29,087 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.92% of the company’s stock.

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.