Protara Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:TARA) Short Interest Up 57.5% in May

Protara Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:TARA) saw a significant growth in short interest in May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 5,888,171 shares, a growth of 57.5% from the May 14th total of 3,739,353 shares. Approximately 11.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 953,737 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.2 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on TARA. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Protara Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Protara Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Protara Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Protara Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Protara Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Protara Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jacqueline Zummo sold 22,598 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.26, for a total value of $118,865.48. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Protara Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TARA. AIGH Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Protara Therapeutics in the first quarter worth $8,454,000. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Protara Therapeutics by 3,127.4% during the 4th quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 1,136,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,059,000 after acquiring an additional 1,101,576 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new stake in Protara Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,562,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position 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 valued at $27,379,000 after purchasing an additional 910,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integral Health Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Protara Therapeutics by 60.7% in the 4th quarter. Integral Health Asset Management LLC now owns 2,250,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,992,000 after buying an additional 850,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.13% of the company’s stock.

Protara Therapeutics Stock Down 1.2%

TARA stock opened at $3.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $4.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.53. Protara Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $2.77 and a 12 month high of $7.82. The company has a market capitalization of $218.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.00 and a beta of 1.45.

Protara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:TARA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.31) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.36) by $0.05. On average, research analysts expect that Protara Therapeutics will post -1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Protara Therapeutics Company Profile

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.