Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ: PTGX) from “hold” to “strong-buy,” adding to a broadly positive analyst backdrop. The stock now carries a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a target price of $113.69.
• Analysts have been raising price targets on PTGX, including Truist to $121, Leerink Partners to $110, JPMorgan to $106, and Citizens JMP to $137. One firm, Weiss Ratings, was the lone recent downgrade to “sell.”
• The company posted a strong quarterly beat, reporting EPS of $0.05 versus expectations for a loss of $0.50 and revenue of $56.37 million versus $11.70 million expected. Shares were trading around $99.36, near their 50-day average and below the 12-month high of $107.84.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on PTGX. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Leerink Partners raised their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Citizens Jmp raised their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $113.69.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of PTGX stock opened at $99.36 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $99.40 and a 200-day moving average of $89.42. Protagonist Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $42.85 and a 12-month high of $107.84. The company has a market capitalization of $6.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -54.90 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, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.50) by $0.55. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 154.88% and a negative return on equity of 17.76%. The company had revenue of $56.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.70 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Protagonist Therapeutics will post 2.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Protagonist Therapeutics

In other news, Director Harold E. Selick sold 24,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The shares were 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 represents a 28.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Arturo Md Molina sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.79, for a total transaction of $1,571,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 84,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,814,410.85. The trade was a 15.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 138,215 shares of company stock worth $13,866,186 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 4.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 110.6% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 297 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Greenline Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 138.9% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 540 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 222.4% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 951 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the period. 98.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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