Analysts Set Heron Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:HRTX) Target Price at $4.50

Heron Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:HRTX) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $4.50.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HRTX. Wall Street Zen lowered Heron Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Heron Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Heron Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Heron Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th.

Heron Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of Heron Therapeutics stock opened at $0.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.51, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.51. Heron Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $0.74 and a fifty-two week high of $2.30. The firm has a market cap of $164.69 million, a P/E ratio of -4.83 and a beta of 1.70. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $0.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1.12.

Heron Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by ($0.01). Heron Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 20.53% and a negative return on equity of 7,747.30%. The firm had revenue of $34.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.72 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Heron Therapeutics will post -0.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Heron Therapeutics by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 30,046,828 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $39,061,000 after purchasing an additional 946,100 shares during the period. Clearline Capital LP lifted its stake in shares of Heron Therapeutics by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 12,235,239 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $15,906,000 after purchasing an additional 2,522,712 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Heron Therapeutics by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 11,185,325 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $14,541,000 after purchasing an additional 946,100 shares during the period. Orbimed Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Heron Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $7,855,000. Finally, Velan Capital Investment Management LP increased its stake in shares of Heron Therapeutics by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. Velan Capital Investment Management LP now owns 8,753,290 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $11,029,000 after acquiring an additional 1,766,546 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.01% of the company’s stock.

Heron Therapeutics Company Profile

Heron Therapeutics, Inc is a commercial-stage biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing therapies in pain management and supportive care for patients undergoing medical and surgical procedures. The company’s research is dedicated to addressing unmet needs in oncology supportive care and post-operative pain management through innovative drug formulations designed to improve patient outcomes and reduce reliance on opioids.

Heron’s first approved therapy, SUSTOL (granisetron) extended-release injection, received U.S.