Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $105.69 and last traded at $105.0540, with a volume of 71651 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $104.31.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PTGX. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $65.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Citizens Jmp increased their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.31.

Protagonist Therapeutics Trading Up 0.1%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.90. The company has a market capitalization of $6.66 billion, a PE ratio of -51.01 and a beta of 2.23.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.69) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by ($0.16). Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 19.89% and a negative net margin of 282.83%.The company had revenue of $7.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 million. Research analysts expect that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William D. Waddill sold 20,000 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.68, for a total value of $1,673,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 7,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $654,796. The trade was a 71.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Asif Ali sold 46,203 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.13, for a total transaction of $3,840,855.39. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 60,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,014,401.60. This represents a 43.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 257,867 shares of company stock valued at $22,413,899. Corporate insiders own 4.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Protagonist Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PTGX. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 110.6% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Greenline Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 138.9% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 540 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $62,000. 98.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Protagonist Therapeutics

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc (NASDAQ: PTGX) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel, orally administered peptide-based therapies for immune-mediated and other serious diseases. The company leverages its proprietary Peptide 2.0 platform to design peptides that target G protein–coupled receptors and cytokine receptors, with the goal of combining the potency of biologics with the convenience of oral administration. Protagonist’s approach aims to address unmet medical needs in areas where injectable therapies have been the standard of care.

Among its lead programs is PTG-100, an oral α4β7 integrin antagonist intended to block leukocyte migration to the gut in ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.