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

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

PTGX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $113.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Insider Transactions at Protagonist Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 75,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 523,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,410,617.36. This represents a 12.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Asif Ali sold 24,765 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.24, for a total value of $2,581,503.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 60,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,332,892.72. This trade represents a 28.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 263,345 shares of company stock worth $26,707,266. 5.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PTGX. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 0.4% in the third quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 6,196,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $411,601,000 after buying an additional 24,000 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,413,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $472,832,000 after buying an additional 1,156,461 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 18.5% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,207,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $177,281,000 after buying an additional 500,924 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 66.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,171,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,992,000 after buying an additional 1,262,977 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,891,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,866,000 after buying an additional 241,546 shares in the last quarter. 98.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PTGX opened at $97.38 on Friday. Protagonist Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $49.38 and a 52-week high of $107.84. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $101.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.49. The firm has a market cap of $6.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -53.80 and a beta of 1.85.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.50) by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $56.37 million during 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 analysts forecast that Protagonist Therapeutics will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.