DURECT Corporation (NASDAQ:DRRX) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• DURECT Corporation experienced a 19.5% decrease in short interest in August, with short interest falling to 345,000 shares from 428,600 shares.
• The company reported earnings of ($0.07) per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and forecast of a -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• Institutional investors have recently increased their stakes in DURECT, with Jane Street Group LLC boosting its position by 266% and several others also expanding their holdings.

DURECT Corporation (NASDAQ:DRRX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 345,000 shares, a drop of 19.5% from the August 15th total of 428,600 shares. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,140,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.3 days. Based on an average trading volume of 1,140,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.3 days. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

DURECT Stock Performance

DRRX remained flat at $1.91 during trading on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $59.31 million, a PE ratio of -19.10 and a beta of 0.92. The business's fifty day moving average is $1.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.00. DURECT has a fifty-two week low of $0.48 and a fifty-two week high of $2.64.

DURECT (NASDAQ:DRRX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The specialty pharmaceutical company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.06. The company had revenue of $0.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.32 million. DURECT had a negative net margin of 96.19% and a negative return on equity of 259.16%. Analysts predict that DURECT will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Northland Capmk lowered DURECT from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Hedge Funds Weigh In On DURECT

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in DURECT by 266.0% during the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 39,196 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 28,486 shares in the last quarter. Beirne Wealth Consulting Services LLC raised its position in shares of DURECT by 6.0% during the second quarter. Beirne Wealth Consulting Services LLC now owns 314,150 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 17,800 shares during the period. Dalton Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of DURECT by 109.1% during the 1st quarter. Dalton Investments Inc. now owns 512,312 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 267,312 shares in the last quarter. Richmond Brothers Inc. increased its stake in DURECT by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Richmond Brothers Inc. now owns 1,346,406 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,080,000 after purchasing an additional 65,230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ingalls & Snyder LLC raised its holdings in DURECT by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 1,349,435 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock worth $857,000 after buying an additional 14,637 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.03% of the company's stock.

DURECT Company Profile

DURECT Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, develops medicines based on its epigenetic regulator program. The company's lead product larsucosterol (DUR-928), an endogenous, orally bioavailable small molecule that is in Phase IIb clinical trial to play a regulatory role in lipid metabolism, stress and inflammatory responses, and cell death and survival to treat alcohol-associated hepatitis, as well as completed Phase Ib clinical trial to treat patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.