Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays has initiated coverage of Protagonist Therapeutics with an "overweight" rating and a price target of $72.00, suggesting a potential upside of 22.89% from its previous close.
• Other analysts have rated Protagonist Therapeutics positively, with an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $68.08.
• The company reported weaker-than-expected earnings, with a net revenue of $5.55 million for the last quarter, missing analyst expectations of $8.32 million.

Research analysts at Barclays began coverage on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm set an "overweight" rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Barclays's price target indicates a potential upside of 15.76% from the stock's current price.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Protagonist Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 8th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on Protagonist Therapeutics from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Protagonist Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.08.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:PTGX traded up $0.06 on Wednesday, reaching $62.20. 2,461,714 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 963,430. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.54. The firm has a market cap of $3.87 billion, a PE ratio of 88.86 and a beta of 2.22. Protagonist Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $33.31 and a 12 month high of $63.30.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $5.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.32 million. Protagonist Therapeutics had a net margin of 24.88% and a return on equity of 8.12%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Protagonist Therapeutics will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Protagonist Therapeutics

In other Protagonist Therapeutics news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 10,415 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.78, for a total value of $570,533.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 520,603 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,518,632.34. This represents a 1.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William D. Waddill sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.25, for a total transaction of $237,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 9,130 shares of the company's stock, valued at $540,952.50. This represents a 30.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 66,859 shares of company stock valued at $3,687,577. 4.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PTGX. Commodore Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $59,415,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 3,025.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 940,077 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,287,000 after buying an additional 909,998 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 218.0% in the 2nd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,092,262 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,369,000 after buying an additional 748,758 shares during the period. BVF Inc. IL boosted its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 35.5% in the 1st quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 2,575,015 shares of the company's stock valued at $124,528,000 after buying an additional 675,000 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $29,311,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.63% of the company's stock.

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.