Spero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPRO) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Spero Therapeutics saw a 21.9% increase in short interest in April to 737,720 shares, equal to 1.3% of shares outstanding and a short-interest ratio of 1.4 days.
• The company beat expectations for the quarter, reporting EPS of $0.53 versus a consensus of ($0.20) and revenue of $41.3 million vs. $26.0 million expected.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed — including a recent upgrade but an average MarketBeat rating of "Reduce" — while insider Esther Rajavelu sold 87,917 shares (a 7.99% reduction) and institutions now own about 25.6% of the stock.

Spero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPRO - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 737,720 shares, an increase of 21.9% from the March 31st total of 605,311 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 531,221 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on SPRO shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Spero Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Spero Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Reduce".

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Spero Therapeutics news, insider Esther Rajavelu sold 87,917 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.36, for a total value of $207,484.12. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,012,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,388,534.76. This represents a 7.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Invesco Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Spero Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Spero Therapeutics by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 210,151 shares of the company's stock valued at $490,000 after buying an additional 19,200 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Spero Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Spero Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Spero Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $100,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 25.60% of the company's stock.

Spero Therapeutics Trading Down 5.2%

Spero Therapeutics stock opened at $2.53 on Thursday. Spero Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $0.57 and a 12 month high of $3.22. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $2.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.41. The firm has a market cap of $146.46 million, a PE ratio of 21.09 and a beta of 1.45.

Spero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SPRO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.20) by $0.73. Spero Therapeutics had a return on equity of 22.53% and a net margin of 12.83%.The firm had revenue of $41.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.00 million.

About Spero Therapeutics

Spero Therapeutics is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel therapies to address multidrug‐resistant bacterial infections. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, the company aims to advance a pipeline of oral and intravenous antibiotic candidates designed to treat serious infectious diseases that pose significant public health challenges.

The company's lead candidate, tebipenem HBr, is an oral carbapenem antibiotic being developed for the treatment of complicated urinary tract infections caused by resistant Gram‐negative pathogens.

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