Roth Capital Begins Coverage on ARS Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SPRY)

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 started coverage on shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SPRY - Free Report) in a research report released 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 shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.50.

ARS Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 3.7%

Shares of NASDAQ SPRY traded down $0.39 on Thursday, reaching $10.31. 1,343,007 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,700,525. ARS Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $9.97 and a 12 month high of $18.90. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $15.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.38. The company has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.09 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 5.98, a current ratio of 6.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

ARS Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SPRY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $15.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.92 million. ARS Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 21.85% and a negative net margin of 42.74%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that ARS Pharmaceuticals will post -0.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at ARS Pharmaceuticals

In other news, major shareholder James E. Flynn sold 740,149 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.46, for a total value of $13,663,150.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 4,887,254 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $90,218,708.84. This trade represents a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard E. Lowenthal sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.49, for a total transaction of $724,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,196,494 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,337,198.06. The trade was a 4.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 882,649 shares of company stock valued at $15,773,760. Insiders own 33.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ARS Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 196,458 shares of the company's stock worth $2,073,000 after buying an additional 4,010 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals by 40.5% during the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 67,277 shares of the company's stock valued at $710,000 after acquiring an additional 19,381 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 478,153 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,045,000 after acquiring an additional 25,773 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals by 113.8% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 69,376 shares of the company's stock valued at $732,000 after acquiring an additional 36,928 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $75,000. 68.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.