Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Reaches New 1-Year High on Strong Earnings

Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $146.84 and last traded at $143.21, with a volume of 65985 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $137.32.

The company reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $213.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $199.81 million. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 17.76% and a negative net margin of 154.88%.Protagonist Therapeutics’s revenue for the quarter was up 3746.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on PTGX. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Citizens Jmp raised their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Friday, May 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Protagonist Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.14.

Insider Transactions at Protagonist Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.12, for a total value of $7,509,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 523,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,410,617.36. This represents a 12.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bryan Giraudo sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $600,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 31,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,182,500. This represents a 15.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 113,130 shares of company stock worth $11,549,340 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 5.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,413,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $472,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,156,461 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 18.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,207,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $177,281,000 after buying an additional 500,924 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 66.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,171,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,992,000 after buying an additional 1,262,977 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 9.1% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,891,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $304,866,000 after acquiring an additional 241,546 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 46.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,770,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,934,000 after acquiring an additional 874,013 shares during the period. 98.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Protagonist Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $9.29 billion, a PE ratio of -79.75 and a beta of 1.78. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $122.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $104.48.

About Protagonist Therapeutics

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc (NASDAQ: PTGX) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel, orally administered peptide-based therapies for immune-mediated and other serious diseases. The company leverages its proprietary Peptide 2.0 platform to design peptides that target G protein–coupled receptors and cytokine receptors, with the goal of combining the potency of biologics with the convenience of oral administration. Protagonist’s approach aims to address unmet medical needs in areas where injectable therapies have been the standard of care.

Among its lead programs is PTG-100, an oral α4β7 integrin antagonist intended to block leukocyte migration to the gut in ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.