Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Hits New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ: PTGX) hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $112.77 after closing at $109.78, reflecting strong recent momentum in the stock.
• Analysts remain generally bullish: multiple firms raised price targets, and the stock currently carries a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $115.21.
• The company recently posted a strong earnings beat, reporting $0.05 EPS versus an expected loss and revenue of $56.37 million versus $11.70 million estimated, though insiders have sold shares in recent months.

Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $112.77 and last traded at $112.46, with a volume of 536301 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $109.78.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PTGX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Leerink Partners boosted their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. Finally, Johnson Rice reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $115.21.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Up 2.4%

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $101.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.42. The firm has a market cap of $7.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -62.13 and a beta of 1.86.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.50) by $0.55. The business had revenue of $56.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.70 million. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 154.88% and a negative return on equity of 17.76%. On average, equities analysts predict that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Protagonist Therapeutics

In other news, CFO Asif Ali sold 24,765 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.24, for a total transaction of $2,581,503.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 60,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,332,892.72. This represents a 28.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Bryan Giraudo sold 36,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.14, for a total transaction of $3,605,040.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 27,825 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,786,395.50. This represents a 56.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 272,345 shares of company stock valued at $27,676,386. Corporate insiders own 5.19% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 24,000 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 buying an additional 1,156,461 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position 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 buying an additional 500,924 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position 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 buying an additional 1,262,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,891,527 shares of the company's stock valued at $304,866,000 after buying an additional 241,546 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.63% of the company's stock.

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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