Assertio Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASRT) Short Interest Down 6.5% in December

Assertio Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASRT) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,910,000 shares, a drop of 6.5% from the December 15th total of 6,320,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 764,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.7 days.

Assertio Trading Up 2.8 %

Assertio stock opened at $0.83 on Friday. Assertio has a 12-month low of $0.73 and a 12-month high of $1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.99 million, a PE ratio of -1.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $0.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.13.

Assertio (NASDAQ:ASRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 11th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.02. Assertio had a positive return on equity of 3.79% and a negative net margin of 54.46%. The business had revenue of $29.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.29 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.01) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Assertio will post -0.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ASRT shares. StockNews.com raised Assertio from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $4.00 price target on shares of Assertio in a research note on Monday, December 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Heather L. Mason bought 75,000 shares of Assertio stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $0.80 per share, with a total value of $60,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 287,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $230,120. This trade represents a 35.27 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Assertio

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Assertio by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,377,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,948,000 after acquiring an additional 285,655 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Assertio during the third quarter valued at $203,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Assertio in the 3rd quarter valued at $177,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Assertio in the 2nd quarter worth about $149,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Assertio during the 2nd quarter worth about $70,000. 48.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Assertio Company Profile

Assertio Holdings, Inc, a commercial pharmaceutical company, provides various products to patients in the United States. Its pharmaceutical products include INDOCIN, an oral and suppository solution for the treatment of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, including acute flares of chronic disease; ankylosing spondylitis and osteoarthritis; and acute painful shoulder and gouty arthritis.