Short Interest in Spero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPRO) Expands By 27.9%

Spero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPRO) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,056,013 shares, an increase of 27.9% from the November 30th total of 825,698 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 300,621 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 300,621 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Spero Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SPRO opened at $2.33 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.31. Spero Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $0.51 and a 1 year high of $3.22. The firm has a market cap of $131.27 million, a PE ratio of -2.95 and a beta of 1.48.

Spero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SPRO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.25) by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $5.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.00 million. Spero Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 108.11% and a negative return on equity of 125.91%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Spero Therapeutics will post -1.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on SPRO. Zacks Research downgraded Spero Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Spero Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Spero Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Spero Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.00.

Insider Activity at Spero Therapeutics

In related news, insider Esther Rajavelu sold 40,270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.37, for a total transaction of $95,439.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 869,450 shares in the company, valued at $2,060,596.50. This represents a 4.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spero Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Invesco Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Spero Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $43,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Spero Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Spero Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $90,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Spero Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $94,000. Finally, Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Spero Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $94,000. Institutional investors own 25.60% of the company’s stock.

Spero Therapeutics Company Profile

Spero Therapeutics is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel therapies to address multidrug‐resistant bacterial infections. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, the company aims to advance a pipeline of oral and intravenous antibiotic candidates designed to treat serious infectious diseases that pose significant public health challenges.

The company’s lead candidate, tebipenem HBr, is an oral carbapenem antibiotic being developed for the treatment of complicated urinary tract infections caused by resistant Gram‐negative pathogens.