Protara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:TARA) Upgraded to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Protara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:TARA) from a strong sell rating to a sell rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Protara Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Protara Therapeutics from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Protara Therapeutics from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Protara Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.50.

Protara Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TARA opened at $5.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $286.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.81 and a beta of 1.53. The business’s 50-day moving average is $5.27 and its 200-day moving average is $5.70. Protara Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $2.77 and a 1 year high of $7.82.

Protara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:TARA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.31) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.36) by $0.05. Analysts anticipate that Protara Therapeutics will post -1.48 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jacqueline Zummo sold 22,598 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.26, for a total transaction of $118,865.48. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 95,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $504,754.86. This represents a 19.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TARA. AIGH Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Protara Therapeutics in the first quarter worth approximately $8,454,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Protara Therapeutics by 3,127.4% in the fourth quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 1,136,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,059,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101,576 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Protara Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,562,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Protara Therapeutics by 21.5% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,141,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,379,000 after purchasing an additional 910,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integral Health Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Protara Therapeutics by 60.7% in the fourth quarter. Integral Health Asset Management LLC now owns 2,250,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,992,000 after purchasing an additional 850,000 shares during the last quarter. 38.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.