Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have 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 $123.00.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PTGX shares. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Citizens Jmp increased their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Johnson Rice set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $121.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.12, for a total value of $7,509,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 523,478 shares in the company, valued at $52,410,617.36. This represents a 12.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William D. Waddill sold 9,000 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.94, for a total value of $1,061,460.00. Following the sale, the director owned 7,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $922,880.50. This represents a 53.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 161,130 shares of company stock worth $16,355,220 over the last three months. 5.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PTGX. NEXTBio Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $20,055,000. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth about $28,924,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,783,000. Keystone Investors PTE Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,305,000. Finally, Eagle Health Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $5,005,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.63% of the company’s stock.

Protagonist Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock opened at $136.11 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -75.20 and a beta of 1.79. Protagonist Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $50.49 and a 12 month high of $143.29.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.50) by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $56.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.70 million. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 154.88% and a negative return on equity of 17.76%. Analysts anticipate that Protagonist Therapeutics will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current year.

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.