ARS Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SPRY) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Roth Capital

Key Points

• Roth Capital has initiated coverage on ARS Pharmaceuticals with a "buy" rating and a price target of $40.00, indicating a potential upside of 267.65% from the last closing price.
• Despite the positive outlook from Roth Capital, Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from "hold" to "sell," suggesting conflicting views among analysts.
• Insiders have recently sold a significant amount of stock, with CEO Richard E. Lowenthal and another executive selling a combined total of over $1.25 million in shares.

Roth Capital assumed coverage on shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SPRY - Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock.

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded ARS Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $32.50.

ARS Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ SPRY traded down $0.62 during trading on Thursday, hitting $10.07. 5,198,565 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,775,677. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $15.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.37. ARS Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $9.97 and a fifty-two week high of $18.90. The company has a current ratio of 6.17, a quick ratio of 5.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $995.22 million, a PE ratio of -20.55 and a beta of 0.87.

ARS Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SPRY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.46) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.41) by ($0.05). ARS Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 42.74% and a negative return on equity of 21.85%. The firm had revenue of $15.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.92 million. Research analysts expect that ARS Pharmaceuticals will post -0.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at ARS Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Sarina Tanimoto sold 37,656 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.09, for a total value of $530,573.04. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,247,447 shares in the company, valued at $17,576,528.23. This trade represents a 2.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Eric Karas sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.99, for a total value of $254,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,315 shares in the company, valued at approximately $175,251.85. This trade represents a 59.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 882,649 shares of company stock worth $15,773,760. Company insiders own 33.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ARS Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in ARS Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new stake in shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals by 4,319.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,359 shares of the company's stock valued at $420,000 after acquiring an additional 3,283 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals by 78,100.0% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,910 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 3,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in ARS Pharmaceuticals by 52.8% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 5,215 shares of the company's stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 1,803 shares during the last quarter. 68.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.