Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on PTGX. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, November 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $178.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Zacks Research raised shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $153.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and sixteen have given a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $166.67.

Protagonist Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ PTGX traded down $3.43 on Friday, reaching $130.95. The company had a trading volume of 759,914 shares, compared to its average volume of 614,125. Protagonist Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $77.00 and a 1 year high of $160.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $140.30 and a 200-day moving average of $119.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.55 billion, a PE ratio of 27.74 and a beta of 1.21.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.57. Protagonist Therapeutics had a net margin of 62.04% and a return on equity of 42.83%. The company had revenue of $274.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $238.49 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Protagonist Therapeutics will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Protagonist Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 63,548 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.18, for a total value of $9,289,446.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 522,968 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,447,462.24. This represents a 10.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Asif Ali sold 58,629 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.78, for a total transaction of $8,312,419.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,365,445.34. This trade represents a 49.84% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 183,629 shares of company stock valued at $26,552,987. 5.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Protagonist Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PTGX. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 102.1% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,576 shares of the company's stock valued at $645,000 after acquiring an additional 2,312 shares during the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $338,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 64.0% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 89,979 shares of the company's stock worth $12,677,000 after purchasing an additional 35,114 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $371,000. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 66.2% during the third quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 468,502 shares of the company's stock worth $66,007,000 after purchasing an additional 186,670 shares during the last quarter. 98.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Protagonist Therapeutics Company Profile

Protagonist Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that discovers and develops peptide-based medicines, primarily for inflammatory and blood disorders. Its research approach uses engineered peptides designed to act on specific biological targets. The company's programs include rusfertide, a hepcidin mimetic being developed for polycythemia vera, and icotrokinra, an oral interleukin-23 receptor antagonist being developed for immune-mediated diseases. Protagonist has entered into licensing and development collaborations for these programs with Takeda and Johnson & Johnson, respectively; they are investigational medicines, not approved treatments.

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