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

Key Points

• Protagonist Therapeutics has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, with 13 of 16 brokerages rating it a buy or strong buy and an average 1-year price target of about $115.21.
• Recent analyst updates were mostly positive, including target increases from Barclays and Citizens JMP, while Citigroup, Johnson Rice, and Jefferies also reiterated bullish ratings on the stock.
• The company recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.05 per share, beating expectations, and revenue of $56.37 million versus the much lower consensus estimate of $11.70 million.

Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation, thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $115.2143.

Several research firms have recently commented on PTGX. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays lifted their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $113.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Johnson Rice reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Citizens Jmp lifted their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Asif Ali sold 1,750 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.47, for a total transaction of $184,572.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,223,046.41. The trade was a 2.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Harold E. Selick sold 24,000 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value 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 trade represents a 28.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 254,345 shares of company stock worth $25,810,506. 5.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PTGX. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 30.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,964 shares of the company's stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 2,334 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 0.9% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 37,403 shares of the company's stock worth $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 283.6% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 134,269 shares of the company's stock worth $6,493,000 after purchasing an additional 99,269 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $987,000. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.6% in the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 19,208 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,062,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the period. 98.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of PTGX opened at $99.56 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $101.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.05. Protagonist Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $45.43 and a 52-week high of $107.84. The company has a market cap of $6.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -55.01 and a beta of 1.89.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.50) by $0.55. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 17.76% and a negative net margin of 154.88%.The firm had revenue of $56.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.70 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Protagonist Therapeutics will post 3.29 EPS 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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