Alyeska Investment Group L.P. Reduces Stock Position in ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $SPRY

Key Points

• Alyeska Investment Group L.P. significantly reduced its stake in ARS Pharmaceuticals by 76.9%, selling 963,632 shares and retaining only 290,092 shares valued at approximately $3.65 million.
• Despite Alyeska's reduction, other institutions like Vanguard Group Inc. and Levin Capital Strategies L.P. increased their holdings in ARS Pharmaceuticals, suggesting mixed investor sentiment.
• ARS Pharmaceuticals reported a quarterly earnings loss of ($0.46) EPS, missing analyst estimates, while generating revenue that surpassed expectations at $15.72 million.

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lessened its holdings in ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPRY - Free Report) by 76.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 290,092 shares of the company's stock after selling 963,632 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. owned about 0.30% of ARS Pharmaceuticals worth $3,649,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in ARS Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new position in shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals by 78,100.0% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,910 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 3,905 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new stake in ARS Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $75,000. Finally, Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in ARS Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $105,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on SPRY shares. Roth Capital started coverage on ARS Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $32.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Eric Karas sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.00, for a total transaction of $240,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at $123,136. This represents a 66.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder James E. Flynn sold 740,149 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.46, for a total value of $13,663,150.54. Following the transaction, the insider owned 4,887,254 shares of the company's stock, valued at $90,218,708.84. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 882,649 shares of company stock valued at $15,773,760 in the last quarter. 33.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

ARS Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SPRY traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $10.15. The company had a trading volume of 2,495,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,047,969. The stock has a market cap of $1.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.71 and a beta of 0.87. The company's 50 day moving average price is $15.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.32. The company has a current ratio of 6.17, a quick ratio of 5.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.97 and a 52-week high of $18.90.

ARS Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SPRY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $15.72 million for 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -0.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.