Scholar Rock (NASDAQ:SRRK) Raised to Strong-Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Key Points

• Jefferies upgraded Scholar Rock to “strong buy,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “buy,” with an average price target of $66.00. BMO raised its target to $84, and Truist increased its target to $76, though Barclays downgraded the stock to “cautious.”
• Scholar Rock shares opened at $49.37, down 1.3%, with a market capitalization of approximately $6.01 billion. The company reported quarterly EPS of -$0.84, in line with estimates, and analysts expect a full-year loss of $3.23 per share.
• Insiders sold shares largely to cover tax obligations tied to equity vesting, while institutional investors and hedge funds own approximately 91.08% of the company.

Scholar Rock (NASDAQ:SRRK - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on SRRK. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $64.00 target price on shares of Scholar Rock in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Scholar Rock in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Scholar Rock from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Barclays cut shares of Scholar Rock from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $76.00 target price (up from $55.00) on shares of Scholar Rock in a research note on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.00.

Scholar Rock Stock Down 1.3%

NASDAQ SRRK opened at $49.37 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.01 billion, a PE ratio of -14.31 and a beta of 0.67. Scholar Rock has a one year low of $27.07 and a one year high of $61.76. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $53.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 7.02 and a quick ratio of 7.02.

Scholar Rock (NASDAQ:SRRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.84) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.84). During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.98) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Scholar Rock will post -3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Scholar Rock

In other news, Director Katie Peng sold 5,446 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.88, for a total transaction of $293,430.48. Following the transaction, the director owned 34,301 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,848,137.88. This represents a 13.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Joshua Reed sold 3,053 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.74, for a total value of $164,068.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 19,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,048,897.32. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 17,149 shares of company stock valued at $923,108 over the last quarter. 10.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scholar Rock

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Scholar Rock by 294.1% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 603 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in Scholar Rock during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Scholar Rock by 151.3% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 872 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Scholar Rock during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Scholar Rock by 92.4% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,270 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.08% of the company's stock.

Scholar Rock Company Profile

Scholar Rock, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing medicines that selectively target growth factors in their latent forms. The company's approach is designed to modulate the activation of growth factors in specific tissues, with the goal of addressing diseases in which these biological pathways contribute to impaired function or abnormal tissue growth.

Scholar Rock's lead program is apitegromab, a monoclonal antibody designed to inhibit the activation of myostatin. The company has studied apitegromab as a potential treatment for spinal muscular atrophy, a genetic neuromuscular disorder that causes progressive muscle weakness and loss of motor function.

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