Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Sunday morning.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $43.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $73.00 price target on Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.44.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ PTGX traded down $1.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $55.34. 677,158 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 890,883. Protagonist Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $30.67 and a 1 year high of $60.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.80 and a beta of 2.25. The business has a 50 day moving average of $46.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.27.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.19) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.50) by $0.31. Protagonist Therapeutics had a return on equity of 34.68% and a net margin of 52.76%. The business had revenue of $28.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.44 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Protagonist Therapeutics will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William D. Waddill sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.25, for a total transaction of $217,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,130 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $712,302.50. This represents a 23.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Asif Ali sold 1,756 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total value of $80,776.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 61,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,808,990. This represents a 2.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 46,270 shares of company stock valued at $2,568,926 in the last three months. Insiders own 4.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 106.9% in the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 21,834 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,056,000 after acquiring an additional 11,279 shares during the period. Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $919,000. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 435,097 shares of the company's stock worth $21,041,000 after buying an additional 9,540 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 54.2% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 897,699 shares of the company's stock worth $43,413,000 after buying an additional 315,372 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,958,000. 98.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.