Protara Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:TARA) Short Interest Up 30.7% in March

Protara Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:TARA) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 6,399,060 shares, an increase of 30.7% from the February 26th total of 4,895,488 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,033,650 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.2 days. Approximately 13.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on TARA. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Protara Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Protara Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Protara Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Protara Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $27.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Protara Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.40.

Protara Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TARA traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $4.85. 465,776 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,140,180. The stock has a market cap of $262.31 million, a P/E ratio of -3.67 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.54. Protara Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $2.77 and a 1-year high of $7.82.

Protara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:TARA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 10th. The company reported ($0.37) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.34) by ($0.03). Equities research analysts anticipate that Protara Therapeutics will post -3.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Protara Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Protara Therapeutics by 114.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 744,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,256,000 after acquiring an additional 397,822 shares during the period. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey purchased a new stake in Protara Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Protara Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $49,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Protara Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Protara Therapeutics by 69.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 61,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,000 after purchasing an additional 25,305 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.13% of the company’s stock.

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.