Short Interest in Assembly Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASMB) Decreases By 16.4%

Assembly Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASMB) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,300 shares, a decrease of 16.4% from the November 30th total of 15,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 33,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.4 days. Approximately 0.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Alexander Schornstein bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $14.58 per share, for a total transaction of $145,800.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 703,113 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 394 shares of company stock worth $5,894 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assembly Biosciences

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Assembly Biosciences by 29.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,855 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 3,635 shares in the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Assembly Biosciences during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,421,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Assembly Biosciences by 131.0% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 13,558 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $184,000 after acquiring an additional 7,690 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Assembly Biosciences by 39.2% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 54,911 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $753,000 after acquiring an additional 15,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Assembly Biosciences by 5,137.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,509 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 3,442 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 19.92% of the company’s stock.

Assembly Biosciences Stock Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ ASMB traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $15.16. 30,908 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 25,238. Assembly Biosciences has a 52 week low of $9.12 and a 52 week high of $19.93. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.59.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ASMB. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Assembly Biosciences in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Assembly Biosciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $2.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th.

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.