H.C. Wainwright maintains Buy rating on Protara stock, $23 target

On Thursday, H.C. Wainwright reaffirmed its Buy rating on Protara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:TARA) with a steady price target of $23.00. Currently trading at $3.63, with a market capitalization of $124.58 million, the stock has significant upside potential according to analysts, whose targets range from $23.00 to $30.00. InvestingPro data reveals 8 additional key metrics that could impact your investment decision. The firm’s analyst highlighted the potential of TARA-002, Protara’s therapeutic candidate for the treatment of high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (HR-NMIBC), particularly in patients unresponsive to Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) therapy.

During the 2024 Society of Urologic Oncology meeting, Protara updated the medical community on the progress of TARA-002. The Phase II ADVANCED-2 trial results showed promising efficacy, with an 80% complete response rate (CRR) at any time and an unprecedented 100% CRR at six months for carcinoma in situ (CIS) patients who had sufficient follow-up.

The analyst noted that these results surpass the typical 30-50% CRR benchmark for this patient population, although the small sample size of the study was taken into consideration. In December 2024, Protara announced further encouraging data from TARA-002, with a 72% CRR at six months and a 70% CRR at any time across different BCG exposure groups. Impressively, there was a 100% durability rate observed between three and six months.

The analysis also pointed out the robust performance of TARA-002 among BCG-naïve patients, with a 67% CRR at any time and 64% at six months. Overall, across all patients, the CRRs stood at 70% at any time and 72% at six months. These outcomes favorably compare to the CRRs of approved treatments like adstiladrin and pembrolizumab, which show a 37%-41% CRR at six months, as well as investigational therapies that exhibit approximately 45%-64% CRR.

H.C. Wainwright’s endorsement of a Buy rating and a $23 price target reflects confidence in the efficacy and potential of TARA-002 as a treatment option within the competitive NMIBC treatment landscape. According to InvestingPro analysis, while Protara maintains a strong balance sheet with more cash than debt and a healthy current ratio of 15.71, investors should note that the company is currently unprofitable and burning through cash rapidly. The stock has shown remarkable momentum with a 95.69% return over the past six months, though it remains significantly below its 52-week high of $10.48.

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 expectations of a $0.59 per share loss. The company did not report any revenue for the quarter, as it remains in the clinical development phase for its drug candidates. Research and development expenses rose to $9.5 million in Q4, compared to $6.4 million in the same period the previous year. This increase reflects heightened clinical trial and non-clinical activities for its lead programs, TARA-002 and IV Choline Chloride. Protara concluded 2024 with a robust cash position of $170.3 million, strengthened by a $100 million public offering in December. The company anticipates this funding will support operations through 2027. Additionally, Protara shared positive six-month data from its Phase 2 ADVANCED-2 trial of TARA-002 in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer patients and plans to report 12-month data by mid-2025. Protara also intends to start its pivotal THRIVE-3 trial for IV Choline Chloride in early 2025 and provide an interim update from the Phase 2 STARBORN-1 trial of TARA-002 in pediatric lymphatic malformations by mid-2025.

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