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

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $115.2143.

A number of brokerages recently commented on PTGX. Citizens Jmp lifted their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th.

Protagonist Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ PTGX opened at $118.96 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $7.65 billion, a PE ratio of -65.72 and a beta of 1.85. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $103.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.51. Protagonist Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $49.38 and a 1-year high of $119.85.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last released its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $56.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.70 million. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 17.76% and a negative net margin of 154.88%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Protagonist Therapeutics will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Arturo Md Molina sold 15,000 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.79, for a total transaction of $1,571,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 84,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,814,410.85. This trade represents a 15.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 75,000 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 523,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,410,617.36. The trade was a 12.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 217,645 shares of company stock valued at $22,151,686 in the last 90 days. 5.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PTGX. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 140.7% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,649,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $231,355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,549,160 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 66.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,171,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,992,000 after acquiring an additional 1,262,977 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 27.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,413,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $472,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,156,461 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $72,114,000. Finally, Commodore Capital LP acquired a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $59,415,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.63% of the company’s stock.

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.