On Tuesday, ARS Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:SPRY) announced a leadership transition. Co-founder and CEO Richard Lowenthal stepped down as an employee and officer, effective July 6, 2026.
The board appointed Donn Casale, the company’s current president, as CEO and a director, effective July 7, 2026.
ARS Pharma CEO Change Was Not Entirely Unexpected: Analyst
William Blair on Thursday wrote, “While the move seems abrupt, we are not altogether surprised that the board may have been looking for a change given the stock performance over the past year on the back of a neffy launch that has not lived up to expectations.”
However, analyst Lachlan Hanbury-Brown viewed Casale’s appointment positively, citing his more than 25 years of commercial experience and his track record of building Dynavax Technologies’ Heplisav-B vaccine franchise into a market leader before the company was acquired by Sanofi.
Analyst Sees More Measured Outlook For Neffy
After speaking with management, the analyst said the company is presenting a more measured base-case outlook for neffy than previously. He expects additional details on the strategy and outlook during the second-quarter earnings call.
Reflecting the more cautious tone, Hanbury-Brown lowered his peak neffy market penetration estimate to 25% from 40% and now expects a more gradual adoption curve over the coming years.
He also revised second-quarter estimates based on Bloomberg Symphony data showing roughly 65,000 neffy prescriptions during the quarter, down from his prior estimate of 67,800.
The lower prescription outlook is expected to be partially offset by higher inventory build as weekly prescription volumes accelerated toward quarter-end.
Cuts Revenue And Fair Value Estimates
William Blair now projects second-quarter neffy revenue of $26.4 million, down from its prior estimate of $27.2 million, compared with the consensus estimate of $28.6 million.
Hanbury-Brown also lowered his fair value estimate to $21 per share from $31 while maintaining an Outperform rating.
ARS Pharma Price Action
SPRY Price Action: ARS Pharmaceuticals shares were down 1.60% at $7.970 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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