Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after JMP Securities raised their price target on the stock from $42.00 to $45.00. The stock had previously closed at $25.79, but opened at $27.08. JMP Securities currently has a market outperform rating on the stock. Protagonist Therapeutics shares last traded at $25.79, with a volume of 129,002 shares traded.

PTGX has been the subject of several other reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Protagonist Therapeutics

In related news, CFO Asif Ali sold 1,234 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.11, for a total value of $30,985.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 37,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $933,162.93. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Protagonist Therapeutics news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total transaction of $948,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 574,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,168,535.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Asif Ali sold 1,234 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.11, for a total value of $30,985.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 37,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $933,162.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 83,457 shares of company stock valued at $2,553,328 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PTGX. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 96.4% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $210,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 10,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 1,093 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 12,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. 98.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Protagonist Therapeutics Trading Up 4.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a PE ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 2.09. The business’s fifty day moving average is $27.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.92.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $60.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.00 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current year.

About Protagonist Therapeutics

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, develops peptide-based drugs for hematology and blood disorders, and inflammatory and immunomodulatory diseases. It is developing Rusfertide (PTG-300), an injectable hepcidin mimetic that completed phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of polycythemia vera and other blood disorders; and JNJ-2113, an orally delivered investigational drug to block biological pathways that completed phase 2b clinical trials for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis; and PN-943, an orally delivered, gut-restricted alpha 4 beta 7 specific integrin antagonist completed a phase 2 clinical trials in patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis.