Reata Pharmaceuticals, Inc. shares soared 5.3% in the last trading session to close at $149.95. The move was backed by solid volume with far more shares changing hands than in a normal session. This compares to the stock's 3.5% gain over the past four weeks.

The company's share price has been rising since the FDA has asked the company to request a pre-NDA meeting to discuss study data for omaveloxolone, last month. The suggestion of a pre-NDA meeting has boosted investor sentiments for a potential new drug application filling, seeking approval for omaveloxolone much sooner than previously anticipated. The positive sentiments are likely to continue.

This company is expected to post quarterly loss of $2.13 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -4.9%. Revenues are expected to be $1.45 million, down 52.9% from the year-ago quarter.

While earnings and revenue growth expectations are important in evaluating the potential strength in a stock, empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.

For Reata Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. And a stock's price usually doesn't keep moving higher in the absence of any trend in earnings estimate revisions. So, make sure to keep an eye on RETA going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank 3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>