Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) Stock: Insider Jason Okazaki Sells 6,202 Shares

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

Assembly Biosciences Stock Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:ASMB opened at $19.87 on Thursday. Assembly Biosciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $19.25 and a 52 week high of $39.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $404.55 million, a PE ratio of 19.53 and a beta of 1.26. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $25.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.07.

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

Key Assembly Biosciences News

Here are the key news stories impacting Assembly Biosciences this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains broadly favorable: the reported consensus price target is $47.50, well above the recent share price, although targets are estimates and not a guarantee of future performance. Consensus price target report
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS cut its price target to $48 from $52, but maintained its Buy rating. The lower target signals a more cautious valuation, while the continued Buy rating remains supportive. UBS price target update
• Neutral Sentiment: The CEO and three other insiders sold shares, including CEO Jason Okazaki, but the sales were reported as covering tax withholding obligations tied to vested equity awards. That makes them less indicative of a negative outlook than discretionary selling. SEC insider transaction filing

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Trading of Assembly Biosciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASMB. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 849,309 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $23,479,000 after purchasing an additional 11,384 shares during the period. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 671.5% during the 2nd quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP now owns 433,147 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,903,000 after acquiring an additional 377,000 shares in the last quarter. Stempoint Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 18.3% during the first quarter. Stempoint Capital LP now owns 185,435 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,146,000 after acquiring an additional 28,707 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Assembly Biosciences by 4.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 39,446 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,095,000 after purchasing an additional 1,634 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in Assembly Biosciences by 43.7% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 34,214 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $940,000 after purchasing an additional 10,410 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.92% of the company’s stock.

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.