Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:TARS) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: Ten analysts give Tarsus Pharmaceuticals a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with an average 12-month price target of $92.57.
• Shares opened at $82.77, near the company’s 12-month high of $91.53 and above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The company recently reported a quarterly loss of $0.43 per share, missing estimates, though revenue of $173.91 million exceeded expectations.
• Institutional investors own 90.01% of the stock, while insiders have sold 75,381 shares worth approximately $5.48 million over the past 90 days, primarily under pre-arranged trading plans.

Shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:TARS - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the ten analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $92.5714.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Tarsus Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Tarsus Pharmaceuticals from $88.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Tarsus Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $89.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $88.00 target price on shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, July 9th.

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

TARS opened at $82.77 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $67.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.45. Tarsus Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $48.20 and a 12-month high of $91.53. The firm has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -75.94 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 3.20, a quick ratio of 3.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TARS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.43) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.19) by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $173.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $169.65 million. Tarsus Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 13.53% and a negative net margin of 7.67%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Tarsus Pharmaceuticals will post -2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Tarsus Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Bobak R. Azamian sold 10,000 shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.55, for a total transaction of $615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 847,991 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $52,193,846.05. The trade was a 1.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director William J. Phd Link sold 12,500 shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.12, for a total transaction of $776,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 106,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,633,546.32. This trade represents a 10.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 75,381 shares of company stock worth $5,477,298 over the last ninety days. 9.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tarsus Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of TARS. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 22,143 shares of the company's stock worth $1,137,000 after buying an additional 1,217 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 71,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,659,000 after acquiring an additional 1,394 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 105.8% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 10,456 shares of the company's stock worth $537,000 after acquiring an additional 190,000 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 402.7% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 140,610 shares of the company's stock worth $5,696,000 after acquiring an additional 112,637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 928,501 shares of the company's stock worth $37,614,000 after acquiring an additional 101,978 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company's stock.

About Tarsus Pharmaceuticals

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel therapies for diseases of the eye and ocular surface. The company's research platform centers on neuro‐effector modulation to address underlying disease mechanisms rather than solely treating symptoms. Tarsus's lead candidate, OC-01 (varenicline solution), is an intranasal formulation in Phase 3 development for the treatment of dry eye disease, a condition affecting millions worldwide and associated with significant patient discomfort and reduced quality of life.

In addition to its dry eye program, Tarsus is advancing preclinical and early‐stage programs targeting other ophthalmic indications, including allergic conjunctivitis and retinal disorders.

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