Short Interest in Spruce Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPRB) Rises By 613.4%

Spruce Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPRB) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 219,000 shares, an increase of 613.4% from the November 30th total of 30,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 565,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SPRB. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $3.00 price target on shares of Spruce Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $1.50 target price (down previously from $2.00) on shares of Spruce Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citizens Jmp lowered Spruce Biosciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Spruce Biosciences in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Spruce Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $3.90.

Spruce Biosciences Price Performance

Shares of SPRB traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $0.44. 473,430 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 693,877. Spruce Biosciences has a one year low of $0.37 and a one year high of $5.95. The company has a market capitalization of $18.07 million, a PE ratio of -0.47 and a beta of 2.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 5.36 and a quick ratio of 5.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $0.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $0.50.

Spruce Biosciences (NASDAQ:SPRB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The company reported ($0.21) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by $0.06. Spruce Biosciences had a negative return on equity of 62.10% and a negative net margin of 555.23%. The firm had revenue of $0.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Spruce Biosciences will post -1.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spruce Biosciences

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Spruce Biosciences by 35.1% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 366,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,000 after purchasing an additional 95,100 shares in the last quarter. Almitas Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Spruce Biosciences in the second quarter worth $205,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Spruce Biosciences by 270.9% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,367,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $707,000 after buying an additional 999,166 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.71% of the company’s stock.

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.