Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) Upgraded at Jefferies Financial Group

Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) was upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $35.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $2.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 80.13% from the company’s previous close.

Separately, HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Assembly Biosciences in a research note on Thursday, June 20th.

Assembly Biosciences Stock Performance

Shares of Assembly Biosciences stock opened at $19.43 on Friday. Assembly Biosciences has a 1-year low of $7.69 and a 1-year high of $20.04. The business has a 50-day moving average of $15.51 and a 200-day moving average of $14.47.

Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.98) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.96) by $0.98. The business had revenue of $8.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.96 million. As a group, analysts predict that Assembly Biosciences will post -7.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Assembly Biosciences

In other news, major shareholder Alexander Schornstein bought 4,438 shares of Assembly Biosciences stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $12.52 per share, with a total value of $55,563.76. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 693,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,677,774.76. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 5.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Assembly Biosciences

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ASMB. Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Assembly Biosciences in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,421,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 15,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $184,000 after acquiring an additional 7,690 shares during the period. 19.92% of the stock is 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.