Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) Now Covered by Guggenheim

Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) in a report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $31.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on ASMB. HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Assembly Biosciences in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded Assembly Biosciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday.

Assembly Biosciences Price Performance

ASMB stock opened at $11.42 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $72.59 million, a PE ratio of -1.70 and a beta of 0.62. Assembly Biosciences has a 12 month low of $10.27 and a 12 month high of $19.93. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.05.

Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.57) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.75) by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.05 million. Assembly Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 121.46% and a negative net margin of 144.05%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Assembly Biosciences will post -6.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael Houghton bought 3,202 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $15.61 per share, for a total transaction of $49,983.22. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,983.22. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Gilead Sciences Inc. bought a new position in Assembly Biosciences in the 4th quarter valued at $34,865,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Assembly Biosciences by 44.3% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 94,711 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,495,000 after purchasing an additional 29,087 shares during the last quarter. Peapod Lane Capital LLC bought a new stake in Assembly Biosciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $994,000. B Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Assembly Biosciences in the 4th quarter valued at $799,000. Finally, Monimus Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Assembly Biosciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $664,000. 19.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.