Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 65,050 Shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $SPRY

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC significantly reduced its stock position in ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. by 46.3%, owning approximately $948,000 worth of shares after the sale.
• Multiple institutional investors have taken new positions in ARS Pharmaceuticals, with 68.16% of the stock currently held by institutional investors.
• The stock has seen a drop of 9.6%, opening at $11.62, after reporting earnings that missed consensus estimates and a negative EPS for the quarter.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPRY - Free Report) by 46.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 75,322 shares of the company's stock after selling 65,050 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned 0.08% of ARS Pharmaceuticals worth $948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in ARS Pharmaceuticals by 47.1% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 41,701 shares of the company's stock worth $440,000 after purchasing an additional 13,361 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 196,458 shares of the company's stock worth $2,073,000 after acquiring an additional 4,010 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 33,086 shares of the company's stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 3,769 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals by 40.5% during the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 67,277 shares of the company's stock worth $710,000 after acquiring an additional 19,381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 478,153 shares of the company's stock worth $5,045,000 after acquiring an additional 25,773 shares in the last quarter. 68.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at ARS Pharmaceuticals

In other ARS Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Richard E. Lowenthal sold 50,000 shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.49, for a total transaction of $724,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,196,494 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,337,198.06. The trade was a 4.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kathleen D. Scott sold 12,500 shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $187,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,042 shares of the company's stock, valued at $150,630. The trade was a 55.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 882,649 shares of company stock worth $15,773,760 in the last three months. 33.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Roth Capital assumed coverage on ARS Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday. They set a "buy" rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded ARS Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $32.50.

ARS Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of SPRY traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $10.69. The stock had a trading volume of 4,264,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,662,074. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.37. ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a one year low of $10.00 and a one year high of $18.90. The firm has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of -21.82 and a beta of 0.87. 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 (NASDAQ:SPRY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.46) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.41) by ($0.05). ARS Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 21.85% and a negative net margin of 42.74%.The business had revenue of $15.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.92 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -0.55 EPS for the current year.

ARS Pharmaceuticals 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.