Short Interest in Spruce Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPRB) Drops By 48.8%

Spruce Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPRB) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 164,000 shares, a drop of 48.8% from the March 31st total of 320,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,320,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.1 days. Currently, 0.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered Spruce Biosciences from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Guggenheim lowered Spruce Biosciences from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Spruce Biosciences in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. SVB Leerink lowered Spruce Biosciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $9.00 to $2.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered Spruce Biosciences from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $9.00 to $2.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.67.

Insider Activity at Spruce Biosciences

In other Spruce Biosciences news, major shareholder Holdings A/S Novo sold 359,979 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $0.73, for a total value of $262,784.67. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,015,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,200,965.33. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 3,114,315 shares of company stock worth $2,613,101 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 9.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spruce Biosciences

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SPRB. AIGH Capital Management LLC grew its position in Spruce Biosciences by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. AIGH Capital Management LLC now owns 1,211,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,737,000 after acquiring an additional 100,000 shares during the last quarter. Worth Venture Partners LLC grew its position in Spruce Biosciences by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Worth Venture Partners LLC now owns 302,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $683,000 after acquiring an additional 24,450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Superstring Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Spruce Biosciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $348,000. Institutional investors own 91.71% of the company’s stock.

Spruce Biosciences Price Performance

Spruce Biosciences stock remained flat at $0.70 during midday trading on Friday. The company had a trading volume of 211,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 675,708. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 4.18 and a current ratio of 4.18. The company’s fifty day moving average is $2.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.23. Spruce Biosciences has a 1-year low of $0.67 and a 1-year high of $5.95.

Spruce Biosciences (NASDAQ:SPRB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The company reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.41) by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 million. Spruce Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 52.31% and a negative net margin of 474.96%. On average, analysts predict 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.