These Cara Therapeutics Analysts Are No Longer Bullish: 'We See No Obvious Future Value Drivers'

Core Viewpoint - Cara Therapeutics Inc's stock experienced a significant decline following disappointing clinical trial results for its oral difelikefalin product, leading to downgrades from analysts [1][2][4]. Group 1: Analyst Downgrades - Needham analyst Joseph Stringer downgraded the stock rating from Buy to Hold due to the failure of the KOURAGE trial [2][8]. - HC Wainwright analyst Oren Livnat also downgraded the stock from Buy to Neutral, citing a lack of future value drivers or catalysts following the clinical disappointment [2][4]. Group 2: Clinical Trial Results - The Phase 2/3 KOURAGE trial evaluating oral Korsuva (difelikefalin) in Notalgia Parasthetica (NP) failed to demonstrate efficacy compared to placebo, with no dose level showing meaningful clinical benefit [8][4]. - The company plans to halt all development related to the NP program and explore strategic alternatives, indicating a lack of meaningful clinical development programs in the pipeline [9][4]. Group 3: Financial Outlook - The company is projected to have $60 million in cash by the end of Q2 2024, with no debt, and a market cap of less than $40 million, which may provide strategic options such as a reverse merger or liquidation [10]. - At the time of publication, shares of Cara Therapeutics had declined by 34.51% to 44 cents [10].