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

Key Points

• Consensus "Moderate Buy": Fifteen analysts cover PTGX (13 buys, 1 hold, 1 sell) with an average 12‑month price target of about $107.31 and recent target upgrades from JPMorgan, Truist and Leerink (though Weiss downgraded to sell).
• Significant insider selling amid heavy institutional ownership: Insiders sold 321,632 shares (~$29.09M) in the last quarter — including the CEO (54,641 shares) — while institutional ownership sits at 98.63% with large funds (Vanguard, Farallon, Wellington) increasing stakes.
• Q4 results and stock snapshot: Protagonist missed Q4 estimates (EPS loss $0.69 vs. -$0.53 expected; revenue $7.44M vs. $14.92M est.), and shares trade near $104 with a $6.64B market cap and a 12‑month range of $39.90–$107.84.

Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and thirteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $107.3077.

PTGX has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Leerink Partners upped their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $65.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Protagonist Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 54,641 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total transaction of $5,518,741.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 524,938 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,018,738. This represents a 9.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Harold E. Selick sold 24,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $2,520,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 60,845 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,388,725. This represents a 28.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 321,632 shares of company stock worth $29,087,253 in the last quarter. 4.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Protagonist Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PTGX. Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 24,000 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,156,461 shares during the period. BVF Inc. IL boosted its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 24.7% in the 2nd quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 3,211,041 shares of the company's stock valued at $177,474,000 after purchasing an additional 636,026 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 500,924 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,262,977 shares during the period. 98.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of PTGX opened at $104.08 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average is $92.69 and its 200-day moving average is $85.07. Protagonist Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $39.90 and a 12 month high of $107.84. The firm has a market cap of $6.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -50.77 and a beta of 2.12.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.69) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by ($0.16). Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 19.89% and a negative net margin of 282.83%.The business had revenue of $7.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Protagonist Therapeutics will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Protagonist Therapeutics

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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