HC Wainwright Issues Optimistic Forecast for DURECT Earnings

DURECT Co. (NASDAQ:DRRX) – HC Wainwright raised their FY2024 EPS estimates for shares of DURECT in a note issued to investors on Thursday, November 14th. HC Wainwright analyst E. Arce now forecasts that the specialty pharmaceutical company will post earnings per share of ($0.63) for the year, up from their previous forecast of ($1.07). HC Wainwright has a “Neutral” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for DURECT’s current full-year earnings is ($0.64) per share. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for DURECT’s Q4 2024 earnings at ($0.14) EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at ($0.14) EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at ($0.15) EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at ($0.16) EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at ($0.14) EPS, FY2025 earnings at ($0.60) EPS, FY2026 earnings at ($0.31) EPS, FY2027 earnings at $0.67 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $3.07 EPS.

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on DURECT in a report on Monday, November 11th. They set a “sell” rating on the stock.

DURECT Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:DRRX opened at $1.01 on Monday. DURECT has a 52 week low of $0.48 and a 52 week high of $1.88. The firm has a market cap of $31.35 million, a PE ratio of -1.66 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $1.35 and its 200-day moving average is $1.37.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Richmond Brothers Inc. raised its stake in DURECT by 39.5% during the second quarter. Richmond Brothers Inc. now owns 1,072,014 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,383,000 after buying an additional 303,670 shares during the last quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of DURECT by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 380,131 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $460,000 after purchasing an additional 21,425 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of DURECT by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 319,905 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 14,658 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. acquired a new stake in DURECT during the second quarter worth approximately $113,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in DURECT by 41.3% in the second quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 21,550 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 6,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.03% of the company’s stock.

About DURECT

DURECT Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, develops medicines based on its epigenetic regulator program. The company's lead product larsucosterol (DUR-928), an endogenous, orally bioavailable small molecule that is in Phase IIb clinical trial to play a regulatory role in lipid metabolism, stress and inflammatory responses, and cell death and survival to treat alcohol-associated hepatitis, as well as completed Phase Ib clinical trial to treat patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.