Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wedbush Analyst Says

Key Points

• Wedbush raised its price target to $118 and kept an outperform rating, joining several firms that lifted targets (Barclays $119, Jefferies $121, Truist $121), leaving an average analyst target of $110.62, implying upside from current levels.
• Shares opened at $99.21 (one‑year range $41.28–$107.84) after the company missed quarterly expectations with EPS of -$0.69 and lower revenue, reflecting negative margins and a negative P/E.
• Insiders sold about 158,215 shares this quarter (CEO sold 54,641 shares), while reported institutional/hedge fund ownership is very high at 98.63% and insiders hold roughly 4.90%.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by stock analysts at Wedbush from $112.00 to $118.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Wedbush's price target would indicate a potential upside of 18.94% from the company's current price.

Several other research firms have also commented on PTGX. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $113.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $80.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $110.62.

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Protagonist Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:PTGX opened at $99.21 on Wednesday. Protagonist Therapeutics has a one year low of $41.28 and a one year high of $107.84. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $98.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -48.40 and a beta of 1.89.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.69) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by ($0.16). Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 19.89% and a negative net margin of 282.83%.The business had revenue of $7.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Protagonist Therapeutics will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Protagonist Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 54,641 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total value of $5,518,741.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 524,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,018,738. This represents a 9.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Harold E. Selick sold 24,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $2,520,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 60,845 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,388,725. The trade was a 28.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 158,215 shares of company stock valued at $15,539,786. 4.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PTGX. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 30.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,964 shares of the company's stock valued at $482,000 after purchasing an additional 2,334 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 0.9% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 37,403 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 283.6% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 134,269 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,493,000 after purchasing an additional 99,269 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $987,000. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.6% during the second 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 during the last quarter. 98.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Protagonist Therapeutics Company Profile

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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