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

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $85.0769.

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Johnson Rice set a $112.00 price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $68.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $70.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of PTGX stock opened at $87.26 on Wednesday. Protagonist Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $33.70 and a 12-month high of $96.54. The company has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a PE ratio of 140.74 and a beta of 2.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $84.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.13.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.62) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.59) by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $4.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.41 million. Protagonist Therapeutics had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 6.86%. As a group, research analysts expect that Protagonist Therapeutics will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Protagonist Therapeutics

In other Protagonist Therapeutics news, Director William D. Waddill sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.62, for a total transaction of $979,440.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,130 shares in the company, valued at $418,710.60. This trade represents a 70.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 4.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Protagonist Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cambria Investment Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 25.0% in the third quarter. Cambria Investment Management L.P. now owns 10,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $727,000 after purchasing an additional 2,187 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $412,000. Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 51.9% in the 3rd quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 1,438,247 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,543,000 after buying an additional 491,363 shares during the period. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC now owns 61,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,109,000 after buying an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 739.7% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 127,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,474,000 after acquiring an additional 112,369 shares during the period. 98.63% of the stock is 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 α4β7 integrin antagonist intended to block leukocyte migration to the gut in ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.