PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTCT) Stock Has Average Price Target of $95.71 According to Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts are broadly positive: Sixteen analysts give PTC Therapeutics a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average 12-month price target of $95.71. Ten rate it Buy and one Strong Buy, while three recommend Hold and two Sell.
• The board authorized a $500 million share repurchase program, allowing the company to buy back up to 9.8% of outstanding shares, subject to market conditions.
• Latest quarterly results were mixed: revenue rose 69.6% year over year to $357.81 million, beating estimates, but EPS of -$0.62 missed the consensus estimate of $0.14.

Shares of PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTCT - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $95.71.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of PTC Therapeutics from $130.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered PTC Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Zacks Research cut PTC Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on PTC Therapeutics from $109.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Leerink Partners initiated coverage on PTC Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, September 14th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PTC Therapeutics news, Director Michael Schmertzler sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.61, for a total transaction of $149,025.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,291,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,991,918.34. This represents a 0.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Mark Boulding sold 435 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.16, for a total transaction of $27,909.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 105,272 shares in the company, valued at $6,754,251.52. This trade represents a 0.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 67,078 shares of company stock valued at $4,616,538. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of PTC Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PTC Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,139,089,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in PTC Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $590,182,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in PTC Therapeutics by 48.3% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,193,433 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $489,997,000 after purchasing an additional 2,342,101 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in PTC Therapeutics by 4.7% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,128,273 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $336,743,000 after purchasing an additional 185,663 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in PTC Therapeutics by 31.8% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,886,841 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $128,550,000 after purchasing an additional 455,284 shares in the last quarter.

More PTC Therapeutics News

Here are the key news stories impacting PTC Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PTC’s board authorized repurchases of up to $500 million of common stock, equivalent to as much as 9.8% of outstanding shares. The program is subject to market conditions and may signal management’s confidence in the company’s value; buybacks can also reduce the share count if carried out. PTC Therapeutics announces $500 million share repurchase program
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target to $109 from $108 and maintained a Buy rating. Other reports also noted higher price targets, including $95 and $112. Citigroup raises PTC Therapeutics price target
• Neutral Sentiment: A report on the healthcare sector’s broad advance included PTCT among the stocks moving higher, suggesting a supportive industry backdrop but not a company-specific catalyst. Healthcare stocks move higher
• Neutral Sentiment: The company said executives will participate in upcoming investor conferences, including the Jefferies Global Healthcare Conference on Nov. 16. PTC Therapeutics to participate in upcoming investor conferences

PTC Therapeutics Stock Up 11.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:PTCT opened at $68.12 on Wednesday. PTC Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $58.80 and a 12 month high of $90.87. The company's 50-day moving average price is $65.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.66. The firm has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -48.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.52.

PTC Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTCT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.62) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.76). The business had revenue of $357.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $306.43 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.20 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 69.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that PTC Therapeutics will post 0.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PTC Therapeutics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 3rd that permits the company to repurchase $500 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the biopharmaceutical company to reacquire up to 9.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

About PTC Therapeutics

PTC Therapeutics, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing medicines for rare diseases. Its research programs include small-molecule treatments, gene therapies and other approaches designed to address conditions with limited or no available treatment options.

The company's commercial portfolio has included Emflaza (deflazacort), a corticosteroid approved in the United States to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and Upstaza (eladocagene exuparvovec), a gene therapy authorized in the European Union for aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase deficiency.

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