Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Raised to "Strong-Buy" 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.

Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Free Report) to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,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.

Several other analysts have also commented on PTGX. JMP Securities increased their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, September 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised Protagonist Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 8th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Protagonist Therapeutics has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $68.08.

Protagonist Therapeutics Trading Up 4.1%

Shares of NASDAQ PTGX traded up $2.46 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $61.68. The stock had a trading volume of 736,661 shares, compared to its average volume of 935,548. The firm has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.14 and a beta of 2.22. The business's fifty day moving average price is $56.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.13. Protagonist Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $33.31 and a 52-week high of $62.10.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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). 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 analysts' expectations of $8.32 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Protagonist Therapeutics will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Protagonist Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 10,415 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 520,603 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,518,632.34. This trade represents a 1.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,130 shares in the company, valued at $540,952.50. This trade represents a 30.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,859 shares of company stock worth $3,687,577 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Protagonist Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. increased its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 22.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.6% in the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 19,208 shares of the company's stock worth $1,062,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted 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 worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted 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 worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.