Assembly Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASMB) Short Interest Down 16.4% in December

Assembly Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASMB) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,300 shares, a drop of 16.4% from the November 30th total of 15,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 33,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.4 days. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assembly Biosciences

In other news, major shareholder Alexander Schornstein purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $14.58 per share, for a total transaction of $145,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 703,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,251,387.54. This trade represents a 1.44 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold a total of 394 shares of company stock worth $5,894 over the last three months. 5.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Assembly Biosciences by 5,137.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,509 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 3,442 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Assembly Biosciences by 29.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,855 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 3,635 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in Assembly Biosciences by 131.0% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 13,558 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $184,000 after purchasing an additional 7,690 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Assembly Biosciences by 39.2% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 54,911 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $753,000 after buying an additional 15,451 shares during the period. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Assembly Biosciences in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,421,000. Institutional investors own 19.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASMB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Assembly Biosciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $2.00 to $35.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Assembly Biosciences in a research report on Friday.

Assembly Biosciences Stock Performance

Shares of ASMB stock opened at $16.03 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $16.04 and a 200 day moving average of $15.59. Assembly Biosciences has a 1-year low of $9.12 and a 1-year high of $19.93.

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.