PTC Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTCT) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• PTC Therapeutics saw unusually heavy trading volume, with about 1.8 million shares changing hands, while the stock fell roughly 3.5% to $74.40.
• Wall Street sentiment remains mostly positive: several firms raised targets or ratings, and the consensus view is Moderate Buy with an average price target of $91.36.
• The company’s latest earnings beat expectations, reporting a much smaller-than-expected loss and 43.5% year-over-year revenue growth to $272.55 million, though insiders have also been selling shares recently.

PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTCT - Get Free Report) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 1,801,762 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 41% from the previous session's volume of 1,276,599 shares.The stock last traded at $74.4020 and had previously closed at $76.77.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on PTCT. Jefferies Financial Group raised PTC Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $85.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on PTC Therapeutics from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered PTC Therapeutics from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Truist Financial raised PTC Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $94.00 price objective on shares of PTC Therapeutics in a report on Friday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $91.36.

PTC Therapeutics Stock Down 3.5%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $70.72 and a 200-day moving average of $72.07. The stock has a market cap of $6.14 billion, a PE ratio of -31.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.55.

PTC Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTCT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $272.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $217.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $10.04 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 43.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that PTC Therapeutics, Inc. will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Eric Pauwels sold 21,277 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $1,595,775.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 73,411 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,505,825. This trade represents a 22.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Mark Elliott Boulding sold 3,540 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.97, for a total value of $279,553.80. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 105,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,308,591.64. This represents a 3.26% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 98,148 shares of company stock valued at $7,001,475. Insiders own 5.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PTC Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in PTC Therapeutics by 16.9% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in PTC Therapeutics by 101.3% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 469 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in PTC Therapeutics by 8.5% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,128 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in PTC Therapeutics by 63.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 634 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its position in shares of PTC Therapeutics by 96.5% during the 3rd quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 507 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period.

PTC Therapeutics Company Profile

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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