ARS Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SPRY) Shares Down 6.3% - Here's Why

Key Points

• ARS Pharmaceuticals' stock fell 6.3% to $16.39 amid a significant decline in trading volume.
• Wall Street analysts have downgraded the stock from a "hold" to a "sell" rating, resulting in a consensus target price of $31.00.
• Insiders have sold over 1 million shares of the company's stock in recent months, indicating a potential loss of confidence in the firm's future performance.

ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPRY - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 6.3% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $16.45 and last traded at $16.39. Approximately 673,129 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average daily volume of 1,489,471 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, ARS Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.00.

ARS Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.65 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 10.74, a current ratio of 6.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company's 50-day moving average price is $16.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.32.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ARS Pharmaceuticals news, insider Eric Karas sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.99, for a total value of $254,850.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 10,315 shares of the company's stock, valued at $175,251.85. This trade represents a 59.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder James E. Flynn sold 740,149 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 4,887,254 shares in the company, valued at $90,218,708.84. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,043,118 shares of company stock valued at $18,024,863. 33.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of ARS Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,922,805 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,349,000 after purchasing an additional 42,071 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,488,293 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,883,000 after purchasing an additional 23,341 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new stake in ARS Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $30,154,000. Cormorant Asset Management LP raised its stake in ARS Pharmaceuticals by 220.0% in the first quarter. Cormorant Asset Management LP now owns 1,600,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,128,000 after buying an additional 1,100,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc raised its stake in ARS Pharmaceuticals by 49.9% in the second quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 1,502,575 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,220,000 after buying an additional 499,916 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.16% of the company's stock.

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.