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

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

Assembly Biosciences Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:ASMB traded up $0.07 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $17.31. The stock had a trading volume of 6,260 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,373. Assembly Biosciences has a 12-month low of $7.75 and a 12-month high of $19.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $132.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.78 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.21.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASMB. Gilead Sciences Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Assembly Biosciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,865,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 44.3% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 94,711 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,495,000 after buying an additional 29,087 shares during the last quarter. B Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Assembly Biosciences in the fourth quarter worth about $799,000. Monimus Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Assembly Biosciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $664,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 42.1% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 23,027 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 6,823 shares during the period. 19.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.