Assembly Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASMB) Short Interest Down 47.1% in May

Assembly Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASMB) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,900 shares, a decline of 47.1% from the May 15th total of 26,300 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 24,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.6 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ASMB shares. Guggenheim assumed coverage on Assembly Biosciences in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut Assembly Biosciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Assembly Biosciences in a report on Monday, March 24th.

Institutional Trading of Assembly Biosciences

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Assembly Biosciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $180,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Assembly Biosciences by 225.6% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,427 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $180,000 after acquiring an additional 7,918 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. bought a new stake in Assembly Biosciences in the first quarter valued at approximately $113,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Assembly Biosciences by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 14,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 2,098 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc bought a new stake in Assembly Biosciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $309,000. 19.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Assembly Biosciences Trading Down 1.5%

NASDAQ:ASMB opened at $16.85 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $128.70 million, a P/E ratio of -2.70 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $12.64 and its 200-day moving average is $13.23. Assembly Biosciences has a 1-year low of $7.75 and a 1-year high of $19.93.

Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.17) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.01) by $0.84. Assembly Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 121.46% and a negative net margin of 144.05%. The company had revenue of $9.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.41 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Assembly Biosciences will post -6.87 EPS for the current year.

About Assembly Biosciences

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.