The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Positive Forecast for Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Stock Price

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) had its price target increased by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $65.00 to $95.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 4.04% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on PTGX. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $80.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Protagonist Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.00.

Protagonist Therapeutics Trading Down 3.1%

Shares of PTGX stock traded down $2.93 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $91.31. 57,887 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 727,491. Protagonist Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $37.63 and a fifty-two week high of $96.54. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $84.38 and its 200-day moving average is $77.44. The company has a market cap of $5.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -44.54 and a beta of 2.23.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.69) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $7.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Protagonist Therapeutics will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 4,068 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.19, for a total value of $338,416.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 574,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,793,070.95. The trade was a 0.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lewis T. Williams sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.42, for a total value of $1,483,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 7,825 shares in the company, valued at $644,936.50. The trade was a 69.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 203,167 shares of company stock valued at $16,889,199 in the last 90 days. 4.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 110.6% during 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 during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 13,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,170,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 8,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $751,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.63% of the company’s stock.

Protagonist Therapeutics Company Profile

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.