Wedbush Expects Higher Earnings for Protagonist Therapeutics

Key Points

• Wedbush raised its earnings per share (EPS) estimate for Protagonist Therapeutics for FY2029 from $2.30 to $2.38, while the consensus estimate stands at $2.43 per share.
• Protagonist Therapeutics reported a quarterly EPS of ($0.55), missing expectations of ($0.53), and generated revenue of $5.55 million, below the forecast of $8.32 million.
• Insider trading activity included the sale of shares by CEO Dinesh Patel and insider Arturo Md Molina, with a total of $4,020,877 in shares sold over the last three months.

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Wedbush boosted their FY2029 EPS estimates for shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a note issued to investors on Thursday, August 7th. Wedbush analyst Y. Zhong now expects that the company will earn $2.38 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $2.30. The consensus estimate for Protagonist Therapeutics' current full-year earnings is $2.43 per share.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.55) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.53) by ($0.02). Protagonist Therapeutics had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 24.88%. The business had revenue of $5.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.32 million.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 8th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.20.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Performance

Protagonist Therapeutics stock traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $50.89. 106,212 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 943,928. Protagonist Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $33.31 and a 52 week high of $60.60. The firm has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.84 and a beta of 2.33. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $53.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.20.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 171.0% during the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 504 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 201.5% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 609 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 153.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 728 shares during the last quarter. 98.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Arturo Md Molina sold 10,000 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $570,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 83,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,784,360.76. This trade represents a 10.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 22,065 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 548,538 shares in the company, valued at $30,197,016.90. This trade represents a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 72,859 shares of company stock worth $4,020,877 over the last three months. 4.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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