PTC Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTCT) Hits New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• PTC Therapeutics stock hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $88.47 after closing previously at $85.44, reflecting strong recent momentum in the shares.
• Several Wall Street firms turned more bullish on the stock, with multiple upgrades and price-target increases. The consensus rating is now Moderate Buy, with an average target price of $91.57.
• The company posted a strong quarterly beat, reporting a much smaller-than-expected loss and 43.5% year-over-year revenue growth. However, insider selling has been notable, with executives selling shares over the past 90 days.

PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTCT - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $88.47 and last traded at $88.8390, with a volume of 367190 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $85.44.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on PTCT. TD Cowen upgraded PTC Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $90.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup upgraded shares of PTC Therapeutics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Truist Financial raised shares of PTC Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of PTC Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, April 10th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $108.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of PTC Therapeutics from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $91.57.

PTC Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.41. The company has a market capitalization of $7.41 billion, a PE ratio of -38.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.53.

PTC Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTCT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.45) by $0.42. PTC Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 362.45% and a negative net margin of 22.58%.The company had revenue of $272.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $217.42 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $10.04 EPS. The business's revenue was up 43.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PTC Therapeutics, Inc. will post 0.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other PTC Therapeutics news, insider Neil Gregory Almstead sold 23,749 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.90, for a total transaction of $1,921,294.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 60,137 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,865,083.30. This trade represents a 28.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Matthew B. Klein sold 12,572 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.95, for a total transaction of $917,127.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 393,998 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,742,154.10. The trade was a 3.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 131,361 shares of company stock worth $10,376,834 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 5.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PTC Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,999,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in PTC Therapeutics by 11.5% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 178,755 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $9,109,000 after purchasing an additional 18,504 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in PTC Therapeutics by 280.1% during the second quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 2,478 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,826 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in PTC Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at $1,661,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of PTC Therapeutics by 247.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,143 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 814 shares during the period.

About PTC Therapeutics

PTC Therapeutics, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of small molecule and biologic therapies for the treatment of rare genetic disorders. Since its founding in 1998, PTC has dedicated its efforts to addressing high unmet medical needs by targeting underlying genetic causes of disease. The company's research platform emphasizes mechanisms such as nonsense suppression and RNA modulation, enabling the development of novel treatments for conditions with limited therapeutic options.

Among PTC's approved products is Translarna (ataluren), a first-in-class therapy designed to treat nonsense mutation Duchenne muscular dystrophy in select markets.

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