Tarsus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TARS) Upgraded 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 for the stock.
• Analyst sentiment overall remains constructive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $90.67, despite one recent sell rating.
• Tarsus also beat its latest quarterly earnings estimate, reporting EPS of -$0.16 versus expectations for -$0.40 and revenue of $162.05 million versus $149.60 million expected.

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

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on TARS. Lifesci Capital upgraded Tarsus Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Tarsus Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $88.00 price target on shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Tarsus Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, April 24th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $90.67.

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ TARS opened at $59.28 on Friday. Tarsus Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $38.51 and a one year high of $85.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $64.65 and a 200 day moving average of $70.56. The company has a market capitalization of $2.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -52.00 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 3.71 and a current ratio of 3.74.

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TARS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $149.60 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Tarsus Pharmaceuticals will post -0.59 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tarsus Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Dianne C. Whitfield sold 4,174 shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $279,658.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 35,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,346,876. The trade was a 10.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Bobak R. Azamian sold 11,964 shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total value of $801,588.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 33,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,239,207. The trade was a 26.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 79,391 shares of company stock worth $5,432,035. 9.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in TARS. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 22,143 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,137,000 after buying an additional 1,217 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 71,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,659,000 after buying an additional 1,394 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 105.8% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 10,456 shares of the company's stock valued at $537,000 after buying an additional 190,000 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 402.7% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 140,610 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,696,000 after buying an additional 112,637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 928,501 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,614,000 after buying an additional 101,978 shares in the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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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