Lake Street Capital Reiterates “Hold” Rating for Assertio (NASDAQ:ASRT)

Assertio (NASDAQ:ASRT)‘s stock had its “hold” rating restated by equities research analysts at Lake Street Capital in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $18.00 price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of $45.00. Lake Street Capital’s price target indicates a potential downside of 0.22% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on ASRT. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Assertio in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered Assertio from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $18.00 target price (down from $35.00) on shares of Assertio in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Assertio from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Assertio has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.00.

Assertio Trading Down 2.0%

ASRT traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $18.04. 454,977 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 86,203. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $13.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.34. Assertio has a 52-week low of $8.25 and a 52-week high of $20.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.35 million, a PE ratio of -3.71 and a beta of 0.43.

Assertio (NASDAQ:ASRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 16th. The company reported ($1.86) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($3.05) by $1.19. The company had revenue of $13.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.20 million. Assertio had a negative return on equity of 30.26% and a negative net margin of 25.59%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Assertio will post -0.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Assertio during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Assertio during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Rothschild Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Assertio during the 4th quarter valued at about $172,000. Perritt Capital Management Inc increased its position in Assertio by 51.6% during the 3rd quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc now owns 350,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 119,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its position in Assertio by 536.0% during the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 381,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,000 after buying an additional 321,584 shares in the last quarter. 48.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Assertio

Assertio Therapeutics, Inc, formerly known as Depomed, is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of therapies for central nervous system (CNS) disorders, including neuropathic pain, migraine and breakthrough cancer pain. The company’s commercial portfolio includes three FDA-approved products—Qutenza (8% capsaicin) for postherpetic neuralgia, Butrans (buprenorphine) transdermal system for chronic pain and Onsolis (fentanyl buccal soluble film) for breakthrough cancer pain—which are marketed primarily in the United States under licensing agreements with global partners.

In addition to its marketed therapies, Assertio maintains a pipeline of preclinical and clinical-stage candidates targeting a range of pain and neurological conditions.