Palo Alto Investors LP Makes New $16.34 Billion Investment in Bicara Therapeutics Inc. $BCAX

Palo Alto Investors LP purchased a new stake in Bicara Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BCAX) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 550,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,341,614,000. Bicara Therapeutics makes up about 2.3% of Palo Alto Investors LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Palo Alto Investors LP owned 0.83% of Bicara Therapeutics as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BCAX. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Bicara Therapeutics by 64.1% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Bicara Therapeutics by 1,015.5% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 3,595 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Bicara Therapeutics by 419.3% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 3,866 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Bicara Therapeutics by 385.3% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 5,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 4,585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Bicara Therapeutics by 87.5% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 7,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Bicara Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Bicara Therapeutics from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Bicara Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim started coverage on Bicara Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $42.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Bicara Therapeutics in a report on Monday, July 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.64.

Bicara Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of BCAX stock opened at $24.83 on Friday. Bicara Therapeutics Inc. has a 52-week low of $10.30 and a 52-week high of $30.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.36. The company has a market capitalization of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.01 and a beta of -0.75.

Bicara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BCAX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.82) EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.82). On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Bicara Therapeutics Inc. will post -3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Ivan Hyep sold 28,000 shares of Bicara Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.85, for a total transaction of $807,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 129,855 shares in the company, valued at $3,746,316.75. The trade was a 17.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Claire Mazumdar sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.98, for a total transaction of $279,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 362,152 shares in the company, valued at $10,133,012.96. This trade represents a 2.69% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 108,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,079,236. Insiders own 13.80% of the company’s stock.

Bicara Therapeutics Profile

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.