Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Coverage Initiated at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays has initiated coverage of Protagonist Therapeutics with an "overweight" rating, reflecting positive sentiment towards the stock.
• Protagonist Therapeutics' stock price has recently risen by 3.1%, reaching $61.04, while analysts have set an average target price of $68.08 for the company.
• Insider trading activity has been noted, with significant share sales by both the CEO and a director, indicating possible concerns about future performance.

Equities research analysts at Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm set an "overweight" rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Barclays's target price points to a potential upside of 13.81% from the stock's current price.

PTGX has been the subject of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 8th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Protagonist Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, September 12th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.08.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock traded up $1.07 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $63.27. 204,561 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 943,647. Protagonist Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $33.31 and a 1 year high of $64.00. The stock's fifty day moving average is $56.56 and its 200 day moving average is $51.63. The firm has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a PE ratio of 90.37 and a beta of 2.22.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last posted 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). Protagonist Therapeutics had a net margin of 24.88% and a return on equity of 8.12%. The business had revenue of $5.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.32 million. Research analysts expect that Protagonist Therapeutics will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Protagonist Therapeutics

In related news, Director William D. Waddill sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.25, for a total transaction of $237,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 9,130 shares of the company's stock, valued at $540,952.50. This represents a 30.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 22,065 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 548,538 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,197,016.90. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,859 shares of company stock valued at $3,687,577 over the last quarter. Insiders own 4.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 79.5% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,185 shares of the company's stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 45,576 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,519,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 173.5% during the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 3,985 shares of the company's stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 2,528 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 11.8% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 211,281 shares of the company's stock worth $11,678,000 after acquiring an additional 22,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 2,211.3% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,339 shares of the company's stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 5,108 shares during the last quarter. 98.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.