Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Reaches New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $65.07 and last traded at $65.06, with a volume of 568745 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $64.51.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PTGX shares. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, September 12th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. Barclays began coverage on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 8th. Finally, JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.36.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.94 and a beta of 2.22. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $56.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.91.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.55) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $5.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.32 million. Protagonist Therapeutics had a net margin of 24.88% and a return on equity of 8.12%. Sell-side analysts predict that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 22,065 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.05, for a total transaction of $1,214,678.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 548,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,197,016.90. This trade represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director William D. Waddill sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.25, for a total transaction of $237,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,130 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $540,952.50. This trade represents a 30.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 66,859 shares of company stock worth $3,687,577. 4.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. boosted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 1,526 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 19,208 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 171.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 504 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 8,458 shares of the company's stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 16.6% during the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.63% of the company's stock.

Protagonist Therapeutics Company Profile

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.

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