DURECT (NASDAQ:DRRX) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

DURECT (NASDAQ:DRRX) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on DRRX. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on DURECT from $44.00 to $41.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 10th. Jonestrading reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $37.00 price target on shares of DURECT in a research note on Thursday, November 9th. Northland Securities initiated coverage on DURECT in a research note on Thursday, September 14th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright downgraded DURECT from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, DURECT has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.25.

DURECT Stock Performance

NASDAQ DRRX opened at $0.61 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $2.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.73. DURECT has a 12 month low of $0.47 and a 12 month high of $9.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.84 million, a PE ratio of -0.39 and a beta of 1.51.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On DURECT

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DRRX. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in DURECT by 2,022.8% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,421,646 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,114,000 after purchasing an additional 4,213,348 shares during the period. Armistice Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of DURECT during the first quarter worth $2,763,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of DURECT by 20.2% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,500,278 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,345,000 after acquiring an additional 588,848 shares in the last quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC lifted its position in shares of DURECT by 32.8% during the first quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 1,214,857 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,503,000 after acquiring an additional 299,925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of DURECT by 2.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,243,592 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,923,000 after acquiring an additional 225,402 shares in the last quarter. 32.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

DURECT Company Profile

DURECT Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, researches and develops medicines based on its epigenetic regulator and pharmaceutical programs. The company offers ALZET product line that consists of osmotic pumps and accessories used for research in mice, rats, and other laboratory animals. It also develops 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.