Brokerages Set Assertio Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASRT) Price Target at $18.00

Assertio Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASRT) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $18.00.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Assertio in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research lowered Assertio from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Lake Street Capital lowered Assertio from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $45.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Maxim Group lowered Assertio from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Assertio from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st.

Assertio Price Performance

ASRT opened at $18.02 on Thursday. Assertio has a 12 month low of $8.55 and a 12 month high of $20.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The stock has a market cap of $116.23 million, a P/E ratio of -3.71 and a beta of 0.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $14.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.48.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Assertio

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ASRT. Nantahala Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Assertio by 4.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Assertio by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,425,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,899,000 after acquiring an additional 41,332 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its stake in shares of Assertio by 536.0% during the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 381,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 321,584 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Assertio during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Perritt Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Assertio by 51.6% during 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 in the last quarter. 48.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Assertio Company Profile

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.