Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $126.59 and last traded at $120.5520, with a volume of 23263 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $121.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PTGX shares. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Leerink Partners boosted their price target on Protagonist Therapeutics from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Johnson Rice restated a “buy” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.21.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Up 0.8%

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $105.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.67. The company has a market capitalization of $7.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -67.72 and a beta of 1.85.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.50) by $0.55. The business had revenue of $56.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.70 million. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 154.88% and a negative return on equity of 17.76%. Analysts anticipate that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Protagonist Therapeutics

In other Protagonist Therapeutics news, Director Bryan Giraudo sold 36,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.14, for a total value of $3,605,040.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 27,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,786,395.50. This trade represents a 56.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 75,000 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.12, for a total transaction of $7,509,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 523,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,410,617.36. The trade was a 12.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 162,880 shares of company stock valued at $16,539,792. 5.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PTGX. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 110.6% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 297 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 13,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 8,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $751,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.63% of the company’s stock.

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.