Protara Therapeutics, Inc. $TARA Stake Boosted by Velan Capital Investment Management LP

Key Points

• Velan Capital Investment Management LP increased its stake in Protara Therapeutics by 5.6%, acquiring an additional 88,800 shares, now owning a total of 1,667,800 shares.
• Protara Therapeutics received a strong-buy rating from Jones Trading, with a price target set at $21.00, indicating positive sentiment among analysts.
• The company's stock opened at $3.14 and has a current market cap of $121.15 million, with a 52-week trading range of $1.60 to $10.48.

Velan Capital Investment Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Protara Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:TARA - Free Report) by 5.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,667,800 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 88,800 shares during the period. Protara Therapeutics makes up approximately 7.3% of Velan Capital Investment Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Velan Capital Investment Management LP owned 4.32% of Protara Therapeutics worth $7,105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TARA. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Protara Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at about $64,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in shares of Protara Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $110,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP bought a new position in Protara Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $111,000. American Century Companies Inc. bought a new stake in Protara Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $154,000. Finally, 683 Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Protara Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $330,000. 38.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Protara Therapeutics Stock Performance

Protara Therapeutics stock traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $3.17. 95,702 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 320,258. The stock has a market cap of $122.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.96 and a beta of 1.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $3.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.48. Protara Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $1.60 and a one year high of $10.48.

Protara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:TARA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.35) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.43) by $0.08. Sell-side analysts predict that Protara Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.32 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Jones Trading raised Protara Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $21.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Protara Therapeutics has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $19.60.

About Protara Therapeutics

Protara Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in advancing transformative therapies for the treatment of cancer and rare diseases. The company's lead program is TARA-002, an investigational cell therapy, which is in Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer and lymphatic malformations.