Tarsus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TARS) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Tarsus Pharmaceuticals from hold to buy, adding to a generally positive analyst backdrop. The stock now carries a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $90.67.
• The company’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of -$0.16 versus an expected -$0.40 and revenue of $162.05 million versus estimates of $149.60 million.
• Insider selling has continued, including recent share sales by the CEO and a director, while institutional investors still own about 90.01% of the stock.

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TARS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Sunday.

TARS has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Lifesci Capital raised shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, April 24th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Tarsus Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $90.67.

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $62.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 3.74 and a quick ratio of 3.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $62.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.82. Tarsus Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $38.51 and a 52-week high of $85.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -55.19 and a beta of 0.49.

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TARS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $149.60 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Tarsus Pharmaceuticals will post -0.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Bobak R. Azamian sold 10,000 shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 847,991 shares of the company's stock, valued at $52,193,846.05. The trade was a 1.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Katherine Goodrich sold 2,954 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.08, for a total transaction of $183,384.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at $138,624.64. The trade was a 56.95% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,850 shares of company stock valued at $2,452,821. 9.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. RTW Investments LP lifted its holdings in Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 3,335,320 shares of the company's stock worth $273,096,000 after buying an additional 157,884 shares in the last quarter. Deep Track Capital LP boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,250,000 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,399,560 shares of the company's stock valued at $196,476,000 after acquiring an additional 127,470 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 16.1% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,240,963 shares of the company's stock worth $157,223,000 after purchasing an additional 310,638 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its position in Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,040,742 shares of the company's stock worth $167,096,000 after purchasing an additional 128,340 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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