Investment Management Associates Inc. ADV Makes New $3.63 Million Investment in ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $SPRY

Key Points

• Investment Management Associates Inc. ADV opened a new position in ARS Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter, buying 311,503 shares valued at about $3.63 million. The stake represented roughly 1.0% of its portfolio.
• Several other institutional investors also boosted their ARS Pharmaceuticals holdings, including Rubric Capital, Aberdeen, Vanguard, Franklin Resources, and UBS. Overall, institutional investors now own 68.16% of the company.
• Analysts are mixed on the stock: the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $28.25, while the shares recently traded around $8.74 and were down 2.9% on the day.

Investment Management Associates Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPRY - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 311,503 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,629,000. ARS Pharmaceuticals comprises about 1.0% of Investment Management Associates Inc. ADV's portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Investment Management Associates Inc. ADV owned approximately 0.32% of ARS Pharmaceuticals as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rubric Capital Management LP grew its holdings in ARS Pharmaceuticals by 247.5% during the 3rd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 4,500,000 shares of the company's stock worth $45,225,000 after acquiring an additional 3,205,122 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc grew its holdings in ARS Pharmaceuticals by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 3,556,049 shares of the company's stock worth $41,428,000 after acquiring an additional 459,027 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in ARS Pharmaceuticals by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,500,303 shares of the company's stock worth $35,178,000 after acquiring an additional 237,630 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in ARS Pharmaceuticals by 31.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,398,012 shares of the company's stock worth $24,100,000 after acquiring an additional 569,257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its holdings in ARS Pharmaceuticals by 235.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,210,866 shares of the company's stock worth $25,757,000 after acquiring an additional 1,550,980 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on SPRY shares. Northland Securities started coverage on shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, April 9th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Leerink Partners set a $26.00 price objective on shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Zacks Research raised shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.25.

ARS Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of NASDAQ SPRY opened at $8.74 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $867.88 million, a PE ratio of -4.99 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 7.28, a quick ratio of 7.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $6.66 and a 1 year high of $18.90. The firm's 50-day moving average is $8.41 and its 200-day moving average is $9.35.

ARS Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SPRY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 9th. The company reported ($0.42) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.42). The company had revenue of $28.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.58 million. ARS Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 203.25% and a negative return on equity of 100.29%. Equities analysts expect that ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -1.54 EPS for the current year.

About ARS Pharmaceuticals

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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