Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Hits New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Protagonist Therapeutics shares hit a new 52-week high after BMO Capital Markets raised its price target from $112 to $178 and maintained an “outperform” rating. The stock traded as high as $158.95.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $140.53; 16 of 18 analysts rate the stock a Strong Buy or Buy.
• The company recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $2.29 in EPS and $213.47 million in revenue, while insiders sold $17.8 million worth of shares over the past 90 days.

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $112.00 to $178.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Protagonist Therapeutics traded as high as $158.95 and last traded at $158.62, with a volume of 506956 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $155.10.

PTGX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Johnson Rice set a $165.00 price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Friday, July 17th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Protagonist Therapeutics to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $118.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Protagonist Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $140.53.

Insider Transactions at Protagonist Therapeutics

In other Protagonist Therapeutics news, Director William D. Waddill sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.94, for a total value of $1,061,460.00. Following the sale, the director owned 7,825 shares of the company's stock, valued at $922,880.50. This trade represents a 53.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 65,761 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.11, for a total value of $9,805,622.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 523,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,055,804.58. The trade was a 11.16% 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. Insiders sold a total of 127,000 shares of company stock worth $17,818,139 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 5.19% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,565,132,000. Artia Global Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,813,000. Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,961,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $162,357,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $261,039,000. 98.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Up 2.3%

The firm's 50-day moving average is $130.98 and its 200-day moving average is $108.30. The company has a market capitalization of $10.26 billion, a PE ratio of 154.00 and a beta of 1.78.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.02. Protagonist Therapeutics had a return on equity of 12.03% and a net margin of 29.40%.The business had revenue of $213.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $212.03 million. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3746.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 4.22 EPS for the current 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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