Protara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:TARA) Shares Up 11% – Still a Buy?

Protara Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:TARA)’s share price shot up 11% on Monday . The company traded as high as $3.43 and last traded at $3.42. 299,689 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 798,823 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jones Trading upgraded Protara Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $21.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Protara Therapeutics in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Protara Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $12.00 target price for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Protara Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.50.

Protara Therapeutics Stock Up 11.0%

The company has a market capitalization of $131.94 million, a PE ratio of -1.99 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.85.

Protara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:TARA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.29) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.47) by $0.18. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Protara Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Protara Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TARA. Velan Capital Investment Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Protara Therapeutics by 5.6% during the first quarter. Velan Capital Investment Management LP now owns 1,667,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,105,000 after buying an additional 88,800 shares in the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp acquired a new position in shares of Protara Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $320,000. Walleye Capital LLC grew its position in Protara Therapeutics by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 229,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $977,000 after acquiring an additional 8,640 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. acquired a new position in Protara Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth $154,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Protara Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth $64,000. 38.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Protara Therapeutics Company Profile

Protara Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in advancing transformative therapies for the treatment of cancer and rare diseases. The company's lead program is TARA-002, an investigational cell therapy, which is in Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer and lymphatic malformations.