Bicara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BCAX) Shares Up 8.6% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Bicara Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BCAX) shot up 8.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $27.24 and last traded at $27.8560. Approximately 157,005 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 538,355 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.64.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BCAX. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Bicara Therapeutics from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Bicara Therapeutics from $11.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Bicara Therapeutics from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Bicara Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of Bicara Therapeutics from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.27.

Bicara Therapeutics Stock Up 2.0%

The business has a fifty day moving average of $22.15 and a 200 day moving average of $19.33. The company has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.67 and a beta of -0.53.

Bicara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BCAX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.93) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by ($0.21). On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bicara Therapeutics Inc. will post -3.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Bicara Therapeutics

In other Bicara Therapeutics news, COO Ryan Cohlhepp sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.29, for a total value of $253,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 191,641 shares in the company, valued at $3,888,395.89. This trade represents a 6.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider David Raben sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.88, for a total value of $125,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 55,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,264,943.68. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 63,900 shares of company stock worth $1,420,704. 13.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bicara Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCAX. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Bicara Therapeutics by 596.5% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,236,595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,472,000 after buying an additional 2,771,868 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC bought a new stake in shares of Bicara Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $44,484,000. Vestal Point Capital LP grew its position in shares of Bicara Therapeutics by 80.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 5,000,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,450,000 after buying an additional 2,231,025 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Bicara Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth about $27,265,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Bicara Therapeutics by 179.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,649,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,762,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059,260 shares in the last quarter.

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.