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

Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation, thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $115.2143.

PTGX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $113.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, May 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Protagonist Therapeutics from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Protagonist Therapeutics from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Friday, May 15th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Asif Ali sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.47, for a total transaction of $184,572.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,223,046.41. This represents a 2.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Harold E. Selick sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $2,520,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 60,845 shares in the company, valued at $6,388,725. The trade was a 28.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 254,345 shares of company stock valued at $25,810,506. Corporate insiders own 5.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the first quarter worth approximately $211,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 64.8% during the first quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 212,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,420,000 after buying an additional 83,654 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 49.3% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,295,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,539,000 after buying an additional 427,854 shares during the last quarter. Stempoint Capital LP increased its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 22.1% during the first quarter. Stempoint Capital LP now owns 72,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,650,000 after buying an additional 13,147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 9.1% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,891,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $304,866,000 after buying an additional 241,546 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.63% of the company’s stock.

Protagonist Therapeutics Trading Down 0.8%

NASDAQ:PTGX opened at $99.56 on Friday. Protagonist Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $45.43 and a 1 year high of $107.84. The stock has a market cap of $6.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -55.01 and a beta of 1.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $101.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.05.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.50) by $0.55. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 17.76% and a negative net margin of 154.88%.The firm had revenue of $56.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.70 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Protagonist Therapeutics will post 3.29 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.