Baker BROS. Advisors LP Boosts Stock Position in Protara Therapeutics, Inc. $TARA

Baker BROS. Advisors LP lifted its position in Protara Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:TARA) by 81.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 971,614 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 434,782 shares during the quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP’s holdings in Protara Therapeutics were worth $5,179,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. purchased a new stake in Protara Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $46,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new stake in Protara Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $53,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in Protara Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in Protara Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Protara Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on TARA shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Protara Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Protara Therapeutics from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 14th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Protara Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Protara Therapeutics from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Protara Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.25.

Protara Therapeutics Stock Up 6.8%

Shares of NASDAQ TARA opened at $4.07 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $228.73 million, a PE ratio of -3.04 and a beta of 1.45. Protara Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2.77 and a 52-week high of $7.82. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $4.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.48.

Protara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:TARA) last announced its earnings results 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Protara Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jacqueline Zummo sold 22,598 shares of the company’s 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 $504,754.86. This represents a 19.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Protara Therapeutics 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.