Tarsus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TARS) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:TARS - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $42.65, but opened at $41.53. Tarsus Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $41.02, with a volume of 140,552 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on TARS. HC Wainwright upgraded Tarsus Pharmaceuticals to a "buy" rating and set a $72.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Tarsus Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on Tarsus Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, June 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.67.

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.4%

The business has a 50-day moving average of $46.22 and a 200-day moving average of $48.86. The company has a quick ratio of 5.38, a current ratio of 5.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $1.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.53 and a beta of 0.83.

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TARS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported ($0.64) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.69) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $78.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.50 million. Tarsus Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 55.86% and a negative net margin of 103.64%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tarsus Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Bobak R. Azamian sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 824,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,205,300. This represents a 0.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Bryan Wahl sold 3,084 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.11, for a total value of $154,539.24. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 51,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,591,288.32. This trade represents a 5.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,542 shares of company stock worth $1,581,173 over the last ninety days. 8.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP lifted its position in Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP now owns 2,610,197 shares of the company's stock worth $134,086,000 after acquiring an additional 78,301 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 5.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,226,595 shares of the company's stock worth $114,380,000 after purchasing an additional 111,433 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank bought a new position in shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $105,714,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its position in shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,331,701 shares of the company's stock worth $68,409,000 after purchasing an additional 51,714 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 932,115 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,611,000 after purchasing an additional 250,018 shares during the period. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Tarsus Pharmaceuticals

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutic candidates for eye care in the United States. The company's lead product candidate is XDEMVY, a novel therapeutic for the treatment of blepharitis caused by the infestation of Demodex mites, as well as to treat meibomian gland disease.