Protara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:TARA) Downgraded to Strong Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Protara Therapeutics to “strong sell” from “sell,” contrasting with the broader analyst consensus of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.25.
• Protara shares were trading at $3.97, near the lower end of their 52-week range of $2.97 to $7.82. The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.36 per share, missing estimates by $0.03.
• Institutional investors own 38.13% of the stock, with Geode Capital Management more than doubling its stake in the second quarter. Protara is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing immunotherapies for virus-driven cancers.

Protara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:TARA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

TARA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Protara Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Protara Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Protara Therapeutics from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Protara Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating on shares of Protara Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $26.25.

Protara Therapeutics Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of TARA stock opened at $3.97 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $234.63 million, a P/E ratio of -2.94 and a beta of 1.50. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.02. Protara Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $2.97 and a 1 year high of $7.82.

Protara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:TARA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.36) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.33) by ($0.03). Analysts forecast that Protara Therapeutics will post -1.47 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Protara Therapeutics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Protara Therapeutics by 114.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 744,519 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,256,000 after purchasing an additional 397,822 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Protara Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $46,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Protara Therapeutics by 69.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 61,554 shares of the company's stock valued at $187,000 after buying an additional 25,305 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund acquired a new position in shares of Protara Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $102,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. bought a new position in Protara Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $73,000. 38.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Protara Therapeutics

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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