Tarsus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TARS) Trading 6.5% Higher - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Tarsus Pharmaceuticals shares climbed 6.5% to $78.88 in mid-day trading, although volume was 68% below the average session level.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive: the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and a $90.50 average price target, with Oppenheimer recently raising its target to $100.
• The company beat revenue expectations but missed quarterly earnings estimates, reporting a loss of $0.43 per share versus the expected $0.19 loss. Tarsus remains unprofitable, with analysts forecasting a full-year loss of $2.06 per share.

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:TARS - Get Free Report) shares rose 6.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $78.43 and last traded at $78.88. Approximately 236,637 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 734,863 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.05.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TARS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their price target 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. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $88.00 target price on shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $89.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $90.50.

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 3.17, a current ratio of 3.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of -73.24 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.46.

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TARS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -2.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Tarsus Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Jeffrey S. Farrow sold 14,396 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.95, for a total transaction of $877,436.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 56,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,462,020.95. The trade was a 20.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director William J. Phd Link sold 12,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.12, for a total value of $776,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 106,786 shares in the company, valued at $6,633,546.32. The trade was a 10.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 39,850 shares of company stock valued at $2,452,821. Insiders own 9.64% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tarsus Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Tarsus Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $242,705,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $176,834,000. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 5,971.9% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 2,288,813 shares of the company's stock valued at $144,058,000 after purchasing an additional 2,251,118 shares in the last quarter. Deep Track Capital LP increased its holdings in shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 71.4% in the third quarter. Deep Track Capital LP now owns 3,000,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $178,290,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $75,099,000. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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