Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:TARS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Tarsus Pharmaceuticals has a Moderate Buy consensus from nine brokerages, with an average 12-month price target of $90.50. Analyst opinions remain mixed, ranging from one sell rating to two strong buys.
• The company recently reported Q1 earnings that beat expectations, posting EPS of -$0.16 versus the -$0.40 estimate and revenue of $162.05 million versus the $149.60 million forecast. Despite the beat, the company still reported negative margins and a loss for the quarter.
• Shares were trading at $57.26, well below the stock’s 52-week high of $85.25, while insiders have been selling shares recently. Institutional ownership remains high at 90.01%, with several large investors increasing their stakes.

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:TARS - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $90.50.

TARS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, April 24th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $88.00 target price on shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $89.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th.

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:TARS opened at $57.26 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $61.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -50.23 and a beta of 0.50. Tarsus Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $38.51 and a 12-month high of $85.25. The company has a current ratio of 3.74, a quick ratio of 3.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TARS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.40) by $0.24. Tarsus Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 14.19% and a negative net margin of 9.02%.The company had revenue of $162.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $149.60 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Tarsus Pharmaceuticals will post -0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Tarsus Pharmaceuticals

In other Tarsus Pharmaceuticals news, Director Katherine Goodrich sold 2,954 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.08, for a total transaction of $183,384.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,233 shares in the company, valued at $138,624.64. This trade represents a 56.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Bobak R. Azamian sold 10,000 shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.55, for a total value of $615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 847,991 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,193,846.05. The trade was a 1.17% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,850 shares of company stock worth $2,452,821. 9.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tarsus Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Deep Track Capital LP raised its stake in Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 71.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 34.1% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,930,325 shares of the company's stock worth $158,062,000 after buying an additional 491,326 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 57.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,194,377 shares of the company's stock worth $83,786,000 after buying an additional 436,271 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 11,730.0% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 437,119 shares of the company's stock worth $35,791,000 after buying an additional 433,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $23,198,000. 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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