Short Interest in Assertio Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASRT) Drops By 53.3%

Assertio Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASRT) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totaling 156,285 shares, a drop of 53.3% from the May 31st total of 334,922 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 327,937 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.5 days. Approximately 2.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Assertio

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nantahala Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Assertio by 4.4% in the second quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 8,810,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,649,000 after acquiring an additional 370,311 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Assertio by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,425,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,899,000 after purchasing an additional 41,332 shares in the last quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Assertio by 51.6% in the 3rd quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc now owns 350,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 119,281 shares during the last quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Assertio during the 4th quarter valued at $2,585,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Assertio by 19.9% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 228,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,357,000 after purchasing an additional 37,902 shares during the last quarter. 48.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Assertio Stock Performance

ASRT stock remained flat at $23.50 during midday trading on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $151.81 million, a PE ratio of -4.13 and a beta of 0.52. Assertio has a 12 month low of $8.61 and a 12 month high of $23.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.82. The business’s fifty day moving average is $22.24 and its 200 day moving average is $16.12.

Assertio (NASDAQ:ASRT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The company reported ($2.93) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($2.10) by ($0.83). Assertio had a negative return on equity of 38.72% and a negative net margin of 34.94%.The business had revenue of $9.93 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.97 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Assertio will post 0.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ASRT shares. Lake Street Capital reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $23.50 price target (up from $21.80) on shares of Assertio in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Assertio in a report on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research cut Assertio from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Assertio from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $21.80 target price (up from $18.00) on shares of Assertio in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Assertio has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $22.65.

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.