Spruce Biosciences (NASDAQ:SPRB) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at B. Riley Financial

Key Points

• B. Riley Financial initiated coverage on Spruce Biosciences with a buy rating and a $160 price target, implying about 219.55% upside from the previous close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: eight analysts rate the stock Buy, two Hold, and one Sell, with a consensus Moderate Buy and an average price target of $162.62.
• Spruce Biosciences recently reported a larger-than-expected quarterly loss, posting ($8.94) EPS versus estimates of ($7.93), while shares opened at $50.07 and the company remains a clinical-stage biotech focused on rare endocrine and dermatological disorders.

Equities researchers at B. Riley Financial started coverage on shares of Spruce Biosciences (NASDAQ:SPRB - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Monday. The brokerage set a "buy" rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. B. Riley Financial's price target points to a potential upside of 219.55% from the company's previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Spruce Biosciences in a report on Friday, June 5th. Citizens Jmp cut their price objective on Spruce Biosciences from $170.00 to $150.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. HC Wainwright reduced their target price on Spruce Biosciences from $200.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 1st. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on Spruce Biosciences in a research report on Monday, April 27th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JonesTrading began coverage on Spruce Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $135.00 price target for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $162.62.

Spruce Biosciences Stock Performance

Shares of SPRB opened at $50.07 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 4.67 and a quick ratio of 4.67. Spruce Biosciences has a 1 year low of $5.41 and a 1 year high of $240.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.10. The firm has a market cap of $137.69 million, a P/E ratio of -1.37 and a beta of 3.16.

Spruce Biosciences (NASDAQ:SPRB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported ($8.94) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($7.93) by ($1.01). On average, equities analysts expect that Spruce Biosciences will post -22.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Spruce Biosciences

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Spruce Biosciences in the fourth quarter worth about $3,484,000. Boothbay Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Spruce Biosciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,175,000. Ikarian Capital LLC raised its position in Spruce Biosciences by 810.3% during the fourth quarter. Ikarian Capital LLC now owns 121,356 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,571,000 after purchasing an additional 108,024 shares during the period. Squadron Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spruce Biosciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,098,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Spruce Biosciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,135,000. 91.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Spruce Biosciences

Spruce Biosciences, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing therapies for rare endocrine and dermatological disorders. Headquartered in San Diego, California, Spruce focuses on conditions with significant unmet medical needs, employing a precision medicine approach to identify and advance treatment candidates through late-stage clinical trials.

The company's lead asset, tildacerfont, is an oral corticotropin-releasing factor type 1 (CRF1) receptor antagonist being evaluated for the treatment of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), a genetic disorder characterized by insufficient cortisol production and excess androgen levels.

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