Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $115.2143.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PTGX. Johnson Rice restated a “buy” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, March 18th.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of PTGX stock opened at $121.88 on Wednesday. Protagonist Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $49.38 and a 1 year high of $126.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $104.39 and its 200-day moving average is $95.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -67.34 and a beta of 1.86.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.50) by $0.55. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 154.88% and a negative return on equity of 17.76%. The business had revenue of $56.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.70 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Protagonist Therapeutics will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Protagonist Therapeutics

In related news, Director William D. Waddill sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.94, for a total value of $1,061,460.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,825 shares in the company, valued at $922,880.50. This represents a 53.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Asif Ali sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.47, for a total transaction of $184,572.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,003 shares in the company, valued at $6,223,046.41. This represents a 2.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 162,880 shares of company stock valued at $16,539,793. 5.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics in the first quarter worth $518,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics in the first quarter worth $245,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics in the first quarter worth $211,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 64.8% in the first quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 212,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,420,000 after purchasing an additional 83,654 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 49.3% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,295,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,539,000 after purchasing an additional 427,854 shares during the period. 98.63% of the stock is currently 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.