Zacks Research Downgrades PTC Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTCT) to Hold

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded PTC Therapeutics to “Hold” from “Strong Buy,” although the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $98.09.
• PTCT shares rose 3.5% to $73.31, while the company’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations: EPS was $0.92 versus a $0.24 estimate, and revenue increased 101.5% year over year to $360.52 million.
• Company insiders sold 205,414 shares worth approximately $16.8 million over the past 90 days, while several institutional investors increased or initiated positions in the stock.

PTC Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTCT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

PTCT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PTC Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial started coverage on PTC Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, April 10th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $108.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen upgraded PTC Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $75.00 to $90.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on PTC Therapeutics from $93.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of PTC Therapeutics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. 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, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.09.

PTC Therapeutics Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of NASDAQ PTCT opened at $73.31 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.55. PTC Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $43.17 and a 12 month high of $90.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.12 billion, a PE ratio of -126.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.56.

PTC Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTCT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.68. PTC Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 3.80% and a negative return on equity of 362.45%. The company had revenue of $360.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $298.63 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.83) earnings per share. PTC Therapeutics's revenue was up 101.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PTC Therapeutics will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PTC Therapeutics news, Director Mary L. Smith sold 15,834 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $1,425,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 21,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,963,170. The trade was a 42.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Neil Gregory Almstead sold 24,613 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.89, for a total transaction of $2,187,849.57. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 60,299 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,359,978.11. This represents a 28.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 205,414 shares of company stock valued at $16,774,162 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 5.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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