Is Cara Therapeutics, Inc. a Buy?
Small-cap biotech Cara Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CARA) is working to commercialize a drug to combat pain -- but the stock has managed to inflict a different sort of suffering on its investors in recent months. Hopes were running high leading up to the release of some trial data expected late in the second quarter but were dashed when results were disappointing, and the stock fell 40% in a single day. Ouch.
Were Cara's difficulties this year a sign of more problems ahead? Or is today's price, which is 53% below its 52-week high but still up 36% for the year, a buying opportunity?
An investment in the volatile Cara Therapeutics is essentially a bet on a single drug for pain, itching, and inflammation that the company has in human trials, CR845. The reliance on a single molecule for the survival of the company makes this stock pretty risky, but it's the promise of that drug that keeps investors interested. CR845 acts on receptors in the periphery of the body and on immune cells without crossing the blood-brain barrier. The fact that CR845 doesn't affect the central nervous system means that it lacks the drawbacks of today's opioid medications, including the euphoria that often leads to abuse.
Source: Fool.com