ARS Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SPRY) Shares Down 11.5% After Insider Selling

ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPRY)’s share price was down 11.5% during trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $12.30 and last traded at $12.66. Approximately 592,685 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 1,035,771 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.31.

Specifically, insider Eric Karas sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total value of $140,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $107,744. This represents a 56.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on SPRY shares. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, February 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Leerink Partners increased their price target on shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of ARS Pharmaceuticals from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $31.00.

ARS Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of -24.24 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $12.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.05.

ARS Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SPRY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.56. The company had revenue of $86.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.46 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of ARS Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPRY. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in ARS Pharmaceuticals by 5,168.4% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,880,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,942,000 after acquiring an additional 3,807,074 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its stake in ARS Pharmaceuticals by 903.0% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,253,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,128,724 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in ARS Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $6,576,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in ARS Pharmaceuticals by 93.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 939,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,909,000 after acquiring an additional 452,532 shares during the period. Finally, Peregrine Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in ARS Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $4,469,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.16% of the company’s stock.

About ARS Pharmaceuticals

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.