DURECT (NASDAQ:DRRX) Share Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• DURECT Corporation's stock price recently crossed above its **200-day moving average**, trading as high as **$1.92** before settling at **$1.90**.
• The company reported an **earnings per share (EPS)** loss of **$0.07**, outperforming analyst expectations of a **$0.13 loss**, with quarterly revenue reaching **$0.45 million**.
• Institutional investors have increased their stakes in DURECT, with **28.03%** of the company's stock now owned by various hedge funds and institutional investors.

DURECT Corporation (NASDAQ:DRRX - Get Free Report) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $0.81 and traded as high as $1.92. DURECT shares last traded at $1.90, with a volume of 778,349 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DRRX. Wall Street Zen began coverage on DURECT in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. They set a "sell" rating on the stock. Northland Capmk cut DURECT from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, DURECT currently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

DURECT Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $59.62 million, a PE ratio of -19.20 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $0.84.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On DURECT

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRRX. Dalton Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in DURECT by 109.1% in the first quarter. Dalton Investments Inc. now owns 512,312 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 267,312 shares in the last quarter. Richmond Brothers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of DURECT by 8.0% during the second quarter. Richmond Brothers Inc. now owns 1,453,735 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $923,000 after purchasing an additional 107,329 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of DURECT during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Beirne Wealth Consulting Services LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $200,000 after purchasing an additional 17,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ingalls & Snyder LLC lifted its holdings in shares of DURECT by 1.1% during the second quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 1,349,435 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $857,000 after purchasing an additional 14,637 shares in the last quarter. 28.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.