Spruce Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPRB) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Spruce Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPRB) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 189,300 shares, an increase of 461.7% from the February 29th total of 33,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,150,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.2 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Holdings A/S Novo sold 842,020 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $0.77, for a total value of $648,355.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,968,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,055,360. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,114,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,613,101. 5.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spruce Biosciences

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Worth Venture Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Spruce Biosciences by 2.6% in the second quarter. Worth Venture Partners LLC now owns 277,624 shares of the company’s stock worth $597,000 after purchasing an additional 7,000 shares during the period. HRT Financial LP bought a new position in shares of Spruce Biosciences in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Spruce Biosciences during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Spruce Biosciences by 39.7% during the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 59,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 16,941 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Spruce Biosciences by 15.7% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 160,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,000 after buying an additional 21,683 shares in the last quarter. 91.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on SPRB shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut Spruce Biosciences from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Spruce Biosciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Guggenheim lowered shares of Spruce Biosciences from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. JMP Securities dropped their price target on Spruce Biosciences from $8.00 to $3.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Spruce Biosciences in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.67.

Spruce Biosciences Price Performance

Spruce Biosciences stock traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $0.75. 557,758 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,215,867. Spruce Biosciences has a 52-week low of $0.68 and a 52-week high of $5.95. The company has a quick ratio of 4.18, a current ratio of 4.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $3.62 and its 200 day moving average is $2.47.

Spruce Biosciences (NASDAQ:SPRB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The company reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.41) by $0.18. Spruce Biosciences had a negative net margin of 474.96% and a negative return on equity of 52.31%. The company had revenue of $2.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Spruce Biosciences will post -1.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Spruce Biosciences

Spruce Biosciences, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing novel therapies for rare endocrine disorders. The company engages in developing tildacerfont, a non-steroidal therapy to enhance disease control and reduce steroid burden for patients suffering from congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), which is in Phase 2b clinical trial; and to evaluate glucocorticoid reduction in adult patients with classic CAH that is Phase 2b clinical trial.