Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Upgraded at Leerink Partnrs

Key Points

• Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) was upgraded to a "strong-buy" rating by Leerink Partners, which also set a price target of $73.00.
• The company reported a Q2 loss of ($0.55) EPS, falling short of consensus estimates, with quarterly revenue of $5.55 million against an expectation of $8.32 million.
• Insiders recently sold approximately 66,859 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock, indicating potential shifts in the ownership dynamics within the company.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Leerink Partnrs to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Zacks.com reports. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Protagonist Therapeutics' Q3 2025 earnings at ($0.60) EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at ($0.61) EPS and FY2025 earnings at ($1.95) EPS.

PTGX has been the subject of several other reports. Leerink Partners began coverage on Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Friday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. JMP Securities increased their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Protagonist Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $67.73.

Protagonist Therapeutics Price Performance

Protagonist Therapeutics stock opened at $58.86 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.66 billion, a PE ratio of 84.09 and a beta of 2.22. Protagonist Therapeutics has a one year low of $33.31 and a one year high of $61.89. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.67.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Protagonist Therapeutics

In other Protagonist Therapeutics news, Director William D. Waddill sold 4,000 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.25, for a total value of $237,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $540,952.50. The trade was a 30.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 22,065 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.05, for a total value of $1,214,678.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 548,538 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,197,016.90. The trade was a 3.87% 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. Corporate insiders own 4.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $27,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 171.0% during the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 504 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 201.5% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 609 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 79.5% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,185 shares of the company's stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 153.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 728 shares during the last quarter. 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.

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