Palo Alto Investors LP Acquires New Stake in Bicara Therapeutics Inc. $BCAX

Palo Alto Investors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Bicara Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BCAX) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 550,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,341,614,000. Bicara Therapeutics accounts for 2.3% of Palo Alto Investors LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Bicara Therapeutics by 64.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,233 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Bicara Therapeutics by 1,015.5% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 3,595 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Bicara Therapeutics by 419.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 3,866 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in Bicara Therapeutics by 385.3% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 5,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 4,585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Bicara Therapeutics by 87.5% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 7,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter.

Bicara Therapeutics Price Performance

BCAX opened at $24.83 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $26.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.01 and a beta of -0.75. Bicara Therapeutics Inc. has a one year low of $10.30 and a one year high of $30.99.

Bicara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BCAX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.82) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.82). On average, analysts expect that Bicara Therapeutics Inc. will post -3.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Bicara Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $42.00 price target on the stock. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of Bicara Therapeutics from $28.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Bicara Therapeutics from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Bicara Therapeutics from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on Bicara Therapeutics from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 owned 362,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,133,012.96. The trade was a 2.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ivan Hyep sold 28,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.85, for a total transaction of $807,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 129,855 shares in the company, valued at $3,746,316.75. This represents a 17.74% 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. Insiders have sold 108,000 shares of company stock worth $3,079,236 in the last ninety days. 13.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.