DURECT (NASDAQ:DRRX) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of DURECT (NASDAQ:DRRX) in a research report sent to investors on Friday. The brokerage issued a sell rating on the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock.

Separately, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of DURECT in a report on Thursday, September 26th.

DURECT Trading Up 4.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:DRRX opened at $1.32 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $40.97 million, a PE ratio of -1.39 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $1.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.31. DURECT has a 1-year low of $0.47 and a 1-year high of $3.14.

DURECT (NASDAQ:DRRX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The specialty pharmaceutical company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by $0.05. DURECT had a negative net margin of 187.80% and a negative return on equity of 261.43%. The business had revenue of $2.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.46) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that DURECT will post -0.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position 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 during the last quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC boosted its position in DURECT by 6.0% in the first quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 380,131 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 21,425 shares during the last quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in DURECT by 10.8% in the first quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 256,220 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. purchased a new position in DURECT in the second quarter worth $113,000. Finally, Richmond Brothers Inc. boosted its position in DURECT by 48.2% in the first quarter. Richmond Brothers Inc. now owns 768,344 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $930,000 after purchasing an additional 250,050 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.03% of the company’s stock.

DURECT Company Profile

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.