PTC Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTCT) Upgraded at Jefferies Financial Group

Key Points

• Jefferies upgraded PTC Therapeutics from “hold” to “buy” and set an $85 price target, implying about 22% upside from the prior close.
• The latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of -$0.03 versus the expected -$0.45 and revenue of $272.55 million, up 43.5% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive overall, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $89, though insiders have recently sold shares.

PTC Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTCT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $85.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 22.14% from the stock's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also commented on PTCT. TD Cowen upgraded shares of PTC Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of PTC Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of PTC Therapeutics from $97.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $94.00 target price on shares of PTC Therapeutics in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of PTC Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PTC Therapeutics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.00.

PTC Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of PTC Therapeutics stock traded up $1.95 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $69.60. 144,910 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,234,775. The stock has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.06, a PEG ratio of 12.83 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $69.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.42. PTC Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $43.17 and a twelve month high of $87.50.

PTC Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTCT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.45) by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $272.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $217.42 million. PTC Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 362.45% and a negative net margin of 22.58%.The firm's revenue was up 43.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $10.04 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that PTC Therapeutics will post 0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at PTC Therapeutics

In other news, EVP Lee Scott Golden sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.38, for a total value of $633,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 79,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,066,850.72. This represents a 11.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Neil Gregory Almstead sold 52,003 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.04, for a total transaction of $3,590,287.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 60,137 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,151,858.48. The trade was a 46.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 quarter, insiders sold 115,022 shares of company stock valued at $7,925,979. 5.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PTC Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. acquired a new position in PTC Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of PTC Therapeutics by 101.3% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 469 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its position in shares of PTC Therapeutics by 96.5% during the third quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 507 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Comerica Bank increased its position in shares of PTC Therapeutics by 868.5% during the third quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 523 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of PTC Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000.

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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