ARS Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SPRY) Lowered to Strong Sell Rating by Zacks Research

ARS Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SPRY) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

SPRY has been the topic of a number of other reports. Raymond James Financial set a $32.00 price target on ARS Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Wall Street Zen downgraded ARS Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Roth Capital initiated coverage on ARS Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.80.

ARS Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SPRY opened at $9.65 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $953.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.69 and a beta of 0.84. ARS Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $9.34 and a 52 week high of $18.90. The company has a quick ratio of 5.98, a current ratio of 6.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $11.02 and a 200 day moving average of $13.97.

ARS Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SPRY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.46) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.41) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $15.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.92 million. ARS Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 21.85% and a negative net margin of 42.74%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that ARS Pharmaceuticals will post -0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Richard E. Lowenthal sold 50,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kathleen D. Scott sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $150,630. This trade represents a 55.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 112,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,615,759 over the last ninety days. 33.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ARS Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in ARS Pharmaceuticals by 16.1% in the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 5,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 777 shares during the last quarter. Matisse Capital boosted its holdings in ARS Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the second quarter. Matisse Capital now owns 56,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $990,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in ARS Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% in the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 33,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 1,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in ARS Pharmaceuticals by 8.0% in the second quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 17,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 1,264 shares during the last quarter. 68.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.