Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C Trims Stock Holdings in ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPRY)

Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C lowered its stake in ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPRY) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,514,657 shares of the company’s stock after selling 563,270 shares during the quarter. ARS Pharmaceuticals comprises about 2.1% of Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C owned about 0.11% of ARS Pharmaceuticals worth $110,930,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SPRY. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $73,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $75,000. Compass Capital Corp MA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $106,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in ARS Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $122,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in ARS Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $132,000. 68.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Eric Karas sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total transaction of $140,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $107,744. This represents a 56.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura Shawver sold 49,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.21, for a total value of $556,016.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 210,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,357,978.66. This represents a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 109,602 shares of company stock worth $1,311,041. 40.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

ARS Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of SPRY stock opened at $13.49 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $13.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of -26.45 and a beta of 0.84. ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.55 and a 52-week high of $18.51.

ARS Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SPRY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.56. The company had revenue of $86.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.46 million. Analysts expect that ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partners upped their price target on ARS Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, February 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.00.

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.