Short Interest in Assertio Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASRT) Declines By 53.3%

Assertio Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASRT) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totaling 156,285 shares, a decline of 53.3% from the May 31st total of 334,922 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 327,937 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.5 days. Approximately 2.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on ASRT shares. Zacks Research cut Assertio from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Lake Street Capital reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $23.50 price target (up from $21.80) on shares of Assertio in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Maxim Group downgraded Assertio from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Assertio from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Assertio in a report on Monday, April 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Assertio currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $22.65.

Assertio Stock Performance

Shares of Assertio stock remained flat at $23.50 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.20. The company has a market capitalization of $151.81 million, a P/E ratio of -4.13 and a beta of 0.52. Assertio has a 52 week low of $8.61 and a 52 week high of $23.50.

Assertio (NASDAQ:ASRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported ($2.93) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($2.10) by ($0.83). Assertio had a negative net margin of 34.94% and a negative return on equity of 38.72%. The company had revenue of $9.93 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.97 million. Research analysts predict that Assertio will post 0.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Assertio by 6,505.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 25,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 24,654 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Assertio by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059 shares during the last quarter. Corsair Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Assertio during the 1st quarter worth about $487,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Assertio by 19.9% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 228,599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,357,000 after buying an additional 37,902 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. purchased a new stake in Assertio in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,047,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 48.96% of the company’s stock.

Assertio Company Profile

Assertio Therapeutics, Inc, formerly known as Depomed, is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of therapies for central nervous system (CNS) disorders, including neuropathic pain, migraine and breakthrough cancer pain. The company’s commercial portfolio includes three FDA-approved products—Qutenza (8% capsaicin) for postherpetic neuralgia, Butrans (buprenorphine) transdermal system for chronic pain and Onsolis (fentanyl buccal soluble film) for breakthrough cancer pain—which are marketed primarily in the United States under licensing agreements with global partners.

In addition to its marketed therapies, Assertio maintains a pipeline of preclinical and clinical-stage candidates targeting a range of pain and neurological conditions.