Protara Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:TARA) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Consensus "Moderate Buy": Seven analysts cover TARA (1 sell, 5 buy, 1 strong buy) and the average 12‑month price target is $21.40, with recent targets including $27 (JPMorgan), $24 (Piper Sandler) and $23 (HC Wainwright).
• Stock and results: TARA opened at $5.21, trades in a 52‑week range of $2.77–$7.82 with a market cap of about $281.8M, and reported a Q1 EPS loss of ($0.37) vs. ($0.34) expected while analysts forecast -3.32 EPS for the year.
• Institutional buying: Multiple funds (Janus Henderson, Velan Capital, Integral Health, Vanguard) materially increased holdings recently, and institutions now own roughly 38.13% of the company.

Protara Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:TARA - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $21.40.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on TARA shares. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Protara Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Protara Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $27.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Protara Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Protara Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Protara Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, January 22nd.

Protara Therapeutics Stock Performance

Protara Therapeutics stock opened at $5.21 on Wednesday. Protara Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $2.77 and a 52 week high of $7.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $281.76 million, a P/E ratio of -3.95 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.57.

Protara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:TARA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 10th. The company reported ($0.37) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.34) by ($0.03). Research analysts forecast that Protara Therapeutics will post -3.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Protara Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Protara Therapeutics by 21.5% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,141,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,379,000 after purchasing an additional 910,285 shares during the last quarter. Velan Capital Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in Protara Therapeutics by 32.5% during the 4th quarter. Velan Capital Investment Management LP now owns 2,834,652 shares of the company's stock worth $15,109,000 after purchasing an additional 695,652 shares during the last quarter. Integral Health Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Protara Therapeutics by 60.7% during the 4th quarter. Integral Health Asset Management LLC now owns 2,250,000 shares of the company's stock worth $11,992,000 after purchasing an additional 850,000 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Protara Therapeutics by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,904,156 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,283,000 after purchasing an additional 102,176 shares during the period. Finally, Acorn Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Protara Therapeutics by 36.9% in the 2nd quarter. Acorn Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,752,115 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,309,000 after purchasing an additional 472,315 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 38.13% of the company's stock.

Protara Therapeutics Company Profile

Protara Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel immunotherapies for virus-driven cancers. The company's primary areas of research include human papillomavirus (HPV)–associated malignancies, where it seeks to harness and enhance the body's immune response to target tumor cells. Protara's therapeutic strategy combines antigen-specific vaccination approaches with modulators of T-cell activation to improve clinical outcomes in patients with HPV-mediated disease.

Protara's lead immunotherapy candidate is PTX-35, an investigational monoclonal antibody designed to agonize OX40, a co-stimulatory receptor on T cells.

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