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

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

Assertio Price Performance

ASRT stock opened at $23.50 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $151.81 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.13 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.03. Assertio has a 12-month low of $8.61 and a 12-month high of $23.50.

Assertio (NASDAQ:ASRT) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported ($2.93) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($2.10) by ($0.83). The business had revenue of $9.93 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.97 million. Assertio had a negative return on equity of 38.72% and a negative net margin of 34.94%. On average, analysts expect that Assertio will post 0.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nantahala Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Assertio by 4.4% in the 2nd 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. lifted its position in Assertio by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,425,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,899,000 after acquiring an additional 41,332 shares in the last quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 119,281 shares during the last quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. acquired a new position in Assertio during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,585,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Assertio by 19.9% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 48.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASRT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Assertio in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered Assertio from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $23.50 target price (up from $21.80) on shares of Assertio in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Maxim Group downgraded Assertio from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $21.80 price target (up from $18.00) on shares of Assertio in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Assertio currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price 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.