ARS Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SPRY) Shares Down 6.3% - What's Next?

Key Points

• ARS Pharmaceuticals shares fell 6.3% to $5.98 in heavy price decline but unusually light volume, trading 92% below the average session volume.
• Analysts remain broadly optimistic, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $28.20, despite mixed individual rating changes and recent target revisions.
• The company missed quarterly EPS estimates, reporting a loss of $0.63 per share versus expectations of $0.48, although revenue of $33.66 million exceeded forecasts; ARS continues developing its needle-free epinephrine spray, neffy.

ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPRY - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 6.3% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $6.10 and last traded at $5.98. Approximately 131,845 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 1,747,773 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SPRY shares. Wall Street Zen raised ARS Pharmaceuticals from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded ARS Pharmaceuticals from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research note on Monday. Leerink Partners decreased their price objective on ARS Pharmaceuticals from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals from $12.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ARS Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $28.20.

ARS Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $576.81 million, a PE ratio of -2.66 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.72, a quick ratio of 3.28 and a current ratio of 3.48. The firm's 50 day moving average is $7.40 and its 200-day moving average is $8.21.

ARS Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SPRY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.63) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.48) by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $33.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.32 million. ARS Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 184.24% and a negative return on equity of 256.67%. On average, research analysts anticipate that ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at ARS Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Eric Karas sold 25,000 shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 12,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $121,760. This trade represents a 67.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Alexander A. Fitzpatrick sold 3,355 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total value of $33,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 90,910 shares in the company, valued at $909,100. This trade represents a 3.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 33.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of ARS Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SPRY. Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals by 29.0% during the 1st quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 8,000,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,240,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800,000 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in ARS Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $42,544,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in ARS Pharmaceuticals by 7.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,500,303 shares of the company's stock worth $35,178,000 after purchasing an additional 237,630 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in ARS Pharmaceuticals by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,223,581 shares of the company's stock worth $37,555,000 after purchasing an additional 328,325 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in ARS Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $36,912,000. 68.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ARS Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.

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