Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on PTGX. Leerink Partners lifted their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.93.

Protagonist Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock opened at $137.64 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.80. Protagonist Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $50.49 and a 1 year high of $141.10. The company has a market capitalization of $8.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -76.04 and a beta of 1.79.

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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.70 million. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 154.88% and a negative return on equity of 17.76%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Protagonist Therapeutics will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Protagonist Therapeutics

In related news, Director Bryan Giraudo sold 36,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.14, for a total transaction of $3,605,040.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 27,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,786,395.50. This trade represents a 56.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Asif Ali sold 1,750 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,223,046.41. This trade represents a 2.88% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 162,880 shares of company stock valued at $16,539,792. 5.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PTGX. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC boosted its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 15.6% in the second quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 12,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,570,000 after buying an additional 1,725 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $89,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at $518,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $245,000. 98.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 ?4?7 integrin antagonist intended to block leukocyte migration to the gut in ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.