Analysts Set Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) Target Price at $68.08

Key Points

• Protagonist Therapeutics has received a consensus "Buy" rating from 12 brokerages, with an average 1-year target price of $68.08 for its shares.
• The company's recent earnings report indicated a loss of ($0.55) EPS, missing expectations, and revenue of $5.55 million for the quarter compared to estimates of $8.32 million.
• Insider selling activity included CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel selling over 22,000 shares at an average price of $55.05, representing a 3.87% decrease in ownership.

Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Buy" from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $68.0833.

PTGX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays assumed coverage on Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Protagonist Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. JMP Securities increased their price target on Protagonist Therapeutics from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th.

Insider Activity at Protagonist Therapeutics

In related news, Director William D. Waddill sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.25, for a total value of $237,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,130 shares in the company, valued at $540,952.50. The trade was a 30.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 10,415 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.78, for a total value of $570,533.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 520,603 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,518,632.34. This represents a 1.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,859 shares of company stock worth $3,687,577 in the last quarter. 4.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 171.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 504 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 201.5% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 609 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 79.5% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,185 shares of the company's stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 153.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 728 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.63% of the company's stock.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Up 3.7%

Shares of PTGX stock traded up $2.31 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $64.51. 702,600 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,063,009. Protagonist Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $33.31 and a fifty-two week high of $64.59. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $56.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.16 and a beta of 2.22.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.55) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.53) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $5.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.32 million. Protagonist Therapeutics had a net margin of 24.88% and a return on equity of 8.12%. As a group, research analysts expect that Protagonist Therapeutics will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Protagonist Therapeutics

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, develops peptide-based drugs for hematology and blood disorders, and inflammatory and immunomodulatory diseases. It is developing Rusfertide (PTG-300), an injectable hepcidin mimetic that completed phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of polycythemia vera and other blood disorders; and JNJ-2113, an orally delivered investigational drug to block biological pathways that completed phase 2b clinical trials for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis; and PN-943, an orally delivered, gut-restricted alpha 4 beta 7 specific integrin antagonist completed a phase 2 clinical trials in patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis.