Assembly Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASMB) Short Interest Up 45.0% in November

Assembly Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASMB) saw a large growth in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,600 shares, a growth of 45.0% from the October 31st total of 8,000 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 30,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASMB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Assembly Biosciences in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Assembly Biosciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $2.00 to $35.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Alexander Schornstein bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $14.58 per share, for a total transaction of $145,800.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 703,113 shares in the company, valued at $10,251,387.54. This represents a 1.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 394 shares of company stock valued at $5,894. 5.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assembly Biosciences

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASMB. Armistice Capital LLC bought a new stake in Assembly Biosciences in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,421,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in Assembly Biosciences by 131.0% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 13,558 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $184,000 after purchasing an additional 7,690 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Assembly Biosciences by 39.2% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 54,911 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $753,000 after purchasing an additional 15,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in Assembly Biosciences by 29.7% during the third 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 in the last quarter. 19.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Assembly Biosciences Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of ASMB stock opened at $17.04 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.52. Assembly Biosciences has a 52 week low of $8.40 and a 52 week 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.