Cantor Fitzgerald sets Overweight rating on Protara stock

On Friday, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Protara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:TARA) with an Overweight rating, indicating a positive outlook for the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Currently trading at $4.02, analyst targets range from $22 to $30, suggesting significant upside potential. The firm’s analysts cited the potential for significant returns ahead of upcoming data updates from the company’s product pipeline. According to InvestingPro data, the company maintains a Fair financial health rating and holds more cash than debt on its balance sheet.

Protara Therapeutics focuses on developing treatments for rare diseases and oncology. The company is currently advancing its pipeline with two key assets: IV choline for parenteral support and TARA-002 for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Cantor Fitzgerald’s analysts highlighted the market’s attention towards the NMIBC asset, which is in a competitive space with other players like CG Oncology, ImmunityBio, and Johnson & Johnson.

Despite the competition, the analysts believe that Protara’s IV choline, a nutrition supplement for patients requiring intravenous feeding, presents an equally or more compelling opportunity. They estimate a high probability of success (PoS) of over 90% for a Phase 2b/3 trial win. According to their analysis, IV choline could achieve $400-500 million in peak sales in a market that currently has little competition. The stock has shown strong momentum, with a remarkable 114% price return over the past six months, though InvestingPro analysis indicates the stock is currently trading near its Fair Value.

The analysts further explained that the sales potential of IV choline alone could justify a valuation increase of three to four times the current stock price for Protara. Such a valuation would reflect the company’s progress and the market’s anticipated response to successful clinical outcomes.

Protara Therapeutics’ stock will be closely watched by investors as the company prepares to release data updates on its key products. The Overweight rating by Cantor Fitzgerald suggests confidence in the company’s ability to deliver value to shareholders through its late-stage pipeline assets.

In other recent news, Protara Therapeutics reported a narrower-than-expected loss for the fourth quarter of 2024, with an adjusted loss of $0.48 per share, surpassing analyst estimates of a $0.59 per share loss. Although the company did not generate any revenue for the quarter, research and development expenses rose to $9.5 million, reflecting increased activities for its programs, including TARA-002. Protara concluded the year with a robust cash reserve of $170.3 million, supported by a $100 million public offering in December, which is expected to sustain operations into 2027. The company shared positive six-month data from its Phase 2 ADVANCED-2 trial of TARA-002 for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, with further results anticipated by mid-2025.

H.C. Wainwright maintained its Buy rating on Protara with a $23 price target, citing the promising efficacy of TARA-002, particularly in high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer patients unresponsive to Bacillus Calmette-Guerin therapy. The Phase II ADVANCED-2 trial demonstrated an 80% complete response rate at any time and a 100% rate at six months for carcinoma in situ patients. These results outperformed typical benchmarks and compared favorably to existing and investigational treatments. Protara plans to initiate its pivotal THRIVE-3 trial for IV Choline Chloride in early 2025 and expects an interim update from the Phase 2 STARBORN-1 trial of TARA-002 in pediatric lymphatic malformations by mid-2025.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.