Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Shares Up 3.2% Following Analyst Upgrade

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) shot up 3.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $39.00 to $48.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Protagonist Therapeutics traded as high as $39.49 and last traded at $39.49. 28,997 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 96% from the average session volume of 788,157 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.25.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $41.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, June 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William D. Waddill sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $280,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,000 shares in the company, valued at $420,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director William D. Waddill sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $280,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,000 shares in the company, valued at $420,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.19, for a total transaction of $1,231,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 515,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,137,453.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 2.5% during the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 34,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,010,000 after purchasing an additional 849 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 10,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 9.2% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 14,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $69,000. 98.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Protagonist Therapeutics Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a PE ratio of 17.04 and a beta of 2.13. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.50.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.75. The company had revenue of $254.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $300.00 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Protagonist Therapeutics Company Profile

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, develops peptide-based drugs for hematology and blood disorders, and inflammatory and immunomodulatory diseases. It is developing Rusfertide (PTG-300), an injectable hepcidin mimetic that completed phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of polycythemia vera and other blood disorders; and JNJ-2113, an orally delivered investigational drug to block biological pathways that completed phase 2b clinical trials for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis; and PN-943, an orally delivered, gut-restricted alpha 4 beta 7 specific integrin antagonist completed a phase 2 clinical trials in patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis.