DURECT Co. (NASDAQ:DRRX) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of DURECT Co. (NASDAQ:DRRX) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $27.50.

DRRX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of DURECT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of DURECT in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $5.00 price target on shares of DURECT in a research report on Monday, April 1st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DRRX. Richmond Brothers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of DURECT during the 4th quarter worth approximately $306,000. Ironwood Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of DURECT by 144.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ironwood Investment Management LLC now owns 206,267 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 121,930 shares in the last quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of DURECT by 111.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 195,020 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $486,000 after purchasing an additional 103,000 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of DURECT during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $141,000. Finally, CM Management LLC increased its stake in shares of DURECT by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. CM Management LLC now owns 525,000 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,307,000 after purchasing an additional 55,000 shares in the last quarter. 28.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

DURECT Stock Up 3.7 %

NASDAQ DRRX opened at $0.92 on Friday. DURECT has a 52-week low of $0.47 and a 52-week high of $7.46. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $1.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $1.08. The firm has a market cap of $28.43 million, a P/E ratio of -0.75 and a beta of 0.85.

DURECT (NASDAQ:DRRX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 27th. The specialty pharmaceutical company reported ($0.27) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.36) by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 million. DURECT had a negative net margin of 323.16% and a negative return on equity of 316.78%. As a group, analysts anticipate that DURECT will post -1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

About DURECT

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.