Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $105.99 and last traded at $105.40, with a volume of 944654 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $99.87.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PTGX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $65.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $80.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Leerink Partners raised their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.31.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $6.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -50.62 and a beta of 2.12. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $90.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.57.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.69) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.53) by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $7.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 million. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 19.89% and a negative net margin of 282.83%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Protagonist Therapeutics news, Director Harold E. Selick sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 60,845 shares in the company, valued at $6,388,725. This represents a 28.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Asif Ali sold 24,765 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.24, for a total transaction of $2,581,503.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 60,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,332,892.72. This represents a 28.96% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 321,632 shares of company stock valued at $29,087,253. Insiders own 4.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 140.7% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,649,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $231,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,549,160 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 66.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,413,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $472,832,000 after buying an additional 1,156,461 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $72,114,000. Finally, Commodore Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $59,415,000. 98.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.