Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

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

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Johnson Rice reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $113.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.93.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Down 1.7%

PTGX stock opened at $137.64 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.80. The company has a market capitalization of $8.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -76.04 and a beta of 1.79. Protagonist Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $50.49 and a fifty-two week high of $141.10.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Protagonist Therapeutics

In related news, Director William D. Waddill sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.94, for a total transaction of $1,061,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $922,880.50. This trade represents a 53.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Bryan Giraudo sold 6,000 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $600,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 31,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,182,500. This trade represents a 15.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 162,880 shares of company stock valued at $16,539,792 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PTGX. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 30.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $482,000 after purchasing an additional 2,334 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 37,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 283.6% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 134,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,493,000 after buying an additional 99,269 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $987,000. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.6% during the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 19,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,062,000 after buying an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. 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.