Leerink Partners Begins Coverage on PTC Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTCT)

Stock analysts at Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of PTC Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTCT) in a note issued to investors on Monday. The firm set an “outperform” rating and a $98.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Leerink Partners’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 46.73% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of PTC Therapeutics from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Barclays raised their target price on PTC Therapeutics from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised PTC Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on PTC Therapeutics from $106.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on PTC Therapeutics from $93.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PTC Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.50.

PTC Therapeutics Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ PTCT traded up $0.73 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $66.79. 279,436 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,373,529. The company has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a PE ratio of -115.16, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $74.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.19. PTC Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $57.74 and a 12 month high of $90.87.

PTC Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTCT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.68. PTC Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 362.45% and a negative net margin of 3.80%.The company had revenue of $360.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $298.63 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.83) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 101.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PTC Therapeutics will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Neil Almstead sold 2,464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.25, for a total transaction of $222,376.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 60,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,441,984.75. This trade represents a 3.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Mary Smith sold 15,834 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director directly owned 21,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,963,170. This represents a 42.06% 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. Insiders sold 206,566 shares of company stock valued at $16,769,079 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PTC Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UMB Bank n.a. purchased a new position in shares of PTC Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Comerica Bank raised its holdings in PTC Therapeutics by 868.5% during the third quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 523 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in PTC Therapeutics by 68.1% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 765 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter.

About PTC Therapeutics

PTC Therapeutics, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing medicines for rare diseases. The company uses technologies involving RNA biology, gene therapy and small-molecule drug discovery to address conditions with limited treatment options, including rare neurological and metabolic disorders.

PTC’s commercial portfolio has included Translarna (ataluren), an investigational treatment in some markets for Duchenne muscular dystrophy associated with a nonsense mutation, and Emflaza (deflazacort), a corticosteroid approved in the United States for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.