DURECT (NASDAQ:DRRX) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average of $1.01

DURECT Co. (NASDAQ:DRRX) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $1.01 and traded as high as $1.45. DURECT shares last traded at $1.36, with a volume of 99,302 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of DURECT in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $5.00 price objective on shares of DURECT in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded DURECT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.50.

DURECT Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $1.29 and a 200-day moving average of $1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.43 and a beta of 1.04.

DURECT (NASDAQ:DRRX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 13th. The specialty pharmaceutical company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 million. DURECT had a negative net margin of 279.77% and a negative return on equity of 328.25%. On average, analysts predict that DURECT Co. will post -0.85 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Richmond Brothers Inc. increased its stake in DURECT by 48.2% during the 1st quarter. Richmond Brothers Inc. now owns 768,344 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $930,000 after buying an additional 250,050 shares during the period. Gagnon Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of DURECT by 6.0% during the first quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 380,131 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $460,000 after acquiring an additional 21,425 shares in the last quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of DURECT by 10.8% during the first quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 256,220 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 25,000 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of DURECT by 144.6% in the third quarter. Ironwood Investment Management LLC now owns 206,267 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $514,000 after acquiring an additional 121,930 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silverberg Bernstein Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in DURECT in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. 28.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.