Tarsus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TARS) Raised to Strong-Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TARS) was upgraded by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Zacks reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on TARS. Mizuho decreased their target price on Tarsus Pharmaceuticals from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals from $90.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 target price on shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Tarsus Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.50.

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TARS opened at $90.78 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.20, a quick ratio of 3.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $66.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.93. The company has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -83.28 and a beta of 0.54. Tarsus Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $48.20 and a 12 month high of $91.53.

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TARS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.43) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by ($0.24). Tarsus Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 13.53% and a negative net margin of 7.67%.The business had revenue of $173.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $169.65 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Tarsus Pharmaceuticals will post -2.06 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Tarsus Pharmaceuticals news, Director Katherine Goodrich sold 2,954 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.08, for a total transaction of $183,384.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $138,624.64. This trade represents a 56.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Bobak Azamian sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.55, for a total value of $615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 847,991 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,193,846.05. This represents a 1.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 51,428 shares of company stock valued at $3,350,810. Insiders own 9.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Tarsus Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TARS. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 139.2% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. State of Wisconsin Investment Board grew its position in Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. State of Wisconsin Investment Board now owns 31,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,613,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 55,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,229,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Tarsus Pharmaceuticals News

Here are the key news stories impacting Tarsus Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Tarsus completed its acquisition of Alkeus, obtaining worldwide rights to gildeuretinol (ALK-001), an investigational once-daily oral treatment for Stargardt disease. The rare inherited eye disease has no FDA-approved therapy and may affect up to 86,000 people in the United States. Tarsus completes Alkeus acquisition
• Positive Sentiment: ALK-001 is being evaluated in the global NORTHSTAR Phase 3 trial and has received FDA Breakthrough Therapy, Orphan Drug, Fast Track and Rare Pediatric Disease designations. The regulatory designations and potential to address a significant unmet need strengthen Tarsus’ pipeline, although topline trial data are not expected until 2029. Alkeus acquisition adds Phase 3 program
• Positive Sentiment: Newly published TEASE-1 results showed that daily gildeuretinol significantly reduced the growth rate of retinal atrophic lesions versus an untreated group and was well tolerated, with no reported delays in dark adaptation or night blindness. TEASE-1 study results
• Neutral Sentiment: The acquisition expands Tarsus beyond its commercial XDEMVY business and supports management’s strategy of building a broader eye-care company. However, the transaction’s financial terms and the ultimate commercial value of ALK-001 were not detailed in the reports.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider Elizabeth Lin reported multiple sales totaling approximately $898,000 across September 1–2 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. While such planned transactions may not reflect current management views, the sales add a modest cautionary signal for investors.

About Tarsus Pharmaceuticals

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel therapies for diseases of the eye and ocular surface. The company’s research platform centers on neuro‐effector modulation to address underlying disease mechanisms rather than solely treating symptoms. Tarsus’s lead candidate, OC-01 (varenicline solution), is an intranasal formulation in Phase 3 development for the treatment of dry eye disease, a condition affecting millions worldwide and associated with significant patient discomfort and reduced quality of life.

In addition to its dry eye program, Tarsus is advancing preclinical and early‐stage programs targeting other ophthalmic indications, including allergic conjunctivitis and retinal disorders.