Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Fifteen analysts give Protagonist Therapeutics an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" (13 buys, 1 hold, 1 sell) with a 1‑year average price target of $108.15.
• Recent fundamentals: PTGX opened at $99.52, has a $6.4B market cap and 12‑month range $41.28–$107.84, and its most recent quarter showed EPS of ($0.69) and revenue of $7.44M, both missing analyst expectations.
• Insider and institutional activity: Insiders sold 158,215 shares in the past 90 days (notable sales by Arturo Md Molina and a director), while institutions own 98.63% of the stock with large stakes held by Farallon, Vanguard, State Street and Wellington.

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $108.1538.

A number of analysts recently commented on PTGX shares. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $65.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $113.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Citizens Jmp lifted their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Up 1.2%

Protagonist Therapeutics stock opened at $99.52 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.91. Protagonist Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $41.28 and a 12-month high of $107.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -48.55 and a beta of 1.89.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.69) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.53) by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $7.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 million. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 19.89% and a negative net margin of 282.83%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Protagonist Therapeutics will post 1.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Protagonist Therapeutics

In other news, insider Arturo Md Molina sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.79, for a total value of $1,571,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 84,115 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,814,410.85. This represents a 15.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lewis T. Williams sold 18,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.42, for a total value of $1,483,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,825 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $644,936.50. This trade represents a 69.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 158,215 shares of company stock valued at $15,539,786. 4.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Protagonist Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 6,196,006 shares of the company's stock valued at $411,601,000 after acquiring an additional 24,000 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,413,690 shares of the company's stock valued at $472,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,156,461 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 18.5% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,207,543 shares of the company's stock valued at $177,281,000 after acquiring an additional 500,924 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 66.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,171,423 shares of the company's stock valued at $276,992,000 after acquiring an additional 1,262,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 46.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,770,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $241,934,000 after acquiring an additional 874,013 shares during the last quarter. 98.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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