ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPRY) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• ARS Pharmaceuticals has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from six covering firms, with an average 12-month price target of $28.20.
• Recent analyst actions were mixed but generally constructive, including Cantor Fitzgerald raising its target to $30 and Northland Securities initiating coverage with an outperform rating.
• The company reported a Q1 earnings miss and continues to post losses, while insiders have recently sold shares and institutional investors still hold a large majority of the stock.

Shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPRY - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $28.20.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SPRY shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on ARS Pharmaceuticals from $12.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Leerink Partners dropped their price objective on ARS Pharmaceuticals from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Northland Securities initiated coverage on shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, April 9th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $25.00 price target for the company.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ARS Pharmaceuticals news, insider Alexander A. Fitzpatrick sold 3,355 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total value of $33,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 90,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $909,100. The trade was a 3.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Eric Karas sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 12,176 shares in the company, valued at $121,760. The trade was a 67.25% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 33.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in ARS Pharmaceuticals by 29.0% in the 1st quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 8,000,000 shares of the company's stock worth $64,240,000 after buying an additional 1,800,000 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 3,556,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,428,000 after buying an additional 459,027 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals by 7.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,500,303 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,178,000 after buying an additional 237,630 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,223,581 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,555,000 after buying an additional 328,325 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,912,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.16% of the company's stock.

ARS Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

ARS Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $7.00 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.06. The company has a quick ratio of 4.77, a current ratio of 4.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.79. ARS Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $6.66 and a twelve month high of $18.63. The company has a market capitalization of $695.10 million, a PE ratio of -3.48 and a beta of 0.95.

ARS Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SPRY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 15th. The company reported ($0.61) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.53) by ($0.08). ARS Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 200.00% and a negative return on equity of 153.61%. The company had revenue of $22.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.20 million. Research analysts expect that ARS Pharmaceuticals will post -1.95 EPS for the current year.

About ARS Pharmaceuticals

ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, develops treatments for severe allergic reactions. The company is developing neffy, a needle-free and low-dose intranasal epinephrine nasal spray for the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. It serves healthcare professionals, patients, and caregivers. ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.