Assertio Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASRT) Short Interest Up 14.1% in December

Assertio Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASRT - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,320,000 shares, an increase of 14.1% from the November 30th total of 5,540,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 737,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 8.6 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASRT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $4.00 target price on shares of Assertio in a research report on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Assertio from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th.

Assertio Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Assertio stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $0.87. The company had a trading volume of 716,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 920,467. The company's 50-day moving average is $0.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.16. The company has a market cap of $83.17 million, a P/E ratio of -1.19 and a beta of 0.82. Assertio has a twelve month low of $0.73 and a twelve 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.

Assertio (NASDAQ:ASRT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.29 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.01) earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Assertio will post -0.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Assertio

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Assertio

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASRT. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Assertio by 13.7% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,377,614 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,948,000 after acquiring an additional 285,655 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Assertio in the 3rd quarter worth about $203,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Assertio in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $177,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Assertio during the second quarter valued at $149,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Assertio during the second quarter valued at approximately $77,000. 48.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.