Bicara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BCAX) Trading 7.8% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of Bicara Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BCAX) shot up 7.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $17.71 and last traded at $17.8550. 31,659 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 437,810 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.56.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Bicara Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Bicara Therapeutics from $8.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Mizuho upgraded Bicara Therapeutics to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Bicara Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Bicara Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.00.

Bicara Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $983.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.01 and a beta of -0.79. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.12.

Bicara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BCAX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The company reported ($0.67) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.55) by ($0.12). Equities analysts anticipate that Bicara Therapeutics Inc. will post -2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Bicara Therapeutics

In other news, COO Ryan Cohlhepp sold 12,500 shares of Bicara Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.68, for a total transaction of $233,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 189,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,533,153.88. The trade was a 6.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Claire Mazumdar sold 41,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.86, for a total transaction of $776,334.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 309,892 shares in the company, valued at $5,844,563.12. This trade represents a 11.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 127,297 shares of company stock worth $2,371,916. Corporate insiders own 15.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BCAX. Atle Fund Management AB boosted its position in Bicara Therapeutics by 23.0% in the second quarter. Atle Fund Management AB now owns 147,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,369,000 after buying an additional 27,547 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in Bicara Therapeutics by 921.0% during the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 425,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,951,000 after acquiring an additional 383,681 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Bicara Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,742,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its stake in shares of Bicara Therapeutics by 160.9% in the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 99,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $922,000 after acquiring an additional 61,201 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Bicara Therapeutics by 71.5% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 224,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,086,000 after acquiring an additional 93,600 shares during the period.

About Bicara Therapeutics

Bicara Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing novel neurohormone-based therapies for psychiatric and neurological disorders. The company’s research focuses on harnessing endogenous signaling pathways in the brain, with the goal of offering new treatment options for conditions that remain inadequately addressed by existing medications. Bicara applies proprietary peptide engineering and intranasal delivery platforms to optimize central nervous system uptake and therapeutic effect.

The company’s lead candidates include PST-001, an intranasal vasopressin-1A receptor antagonist in development for postpartum depression, and PST-002, an oxytocin receptor modulator being investigated for social anxiety and autism spectrum disorder.