Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Trading 8.4% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) shot up 8.4% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $104.82 and last traded at $106.2370. 519,701 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 29% from the average session volume of 730,347 shares. The stock had previously closed at $98.03.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on PTGX. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Citizens Jmp boosted their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Leerink Partners upped their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.21.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Up 3.8%

The company has a market cap of $7.06 billion, a PE ratio of -60.66 and a beta of 1.85. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $101.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.93.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.50) by $0.55. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 154.88% and a negative return on equity of 17.76%. The company had revenue of $56.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.70 million. On average, analysts predict that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Asif Ali sold 24,765 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.24, for a total value of $2,581,503.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 60,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,332,892.72. The trade was a 28.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Bryan Giraudo sold 36,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.14, for a total transaction of $3,605,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 27,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,786,395.50. This represents a 56.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 263,345 shares of company stock valued at $26,707,266. 5.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 11.6% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 110.6% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 297 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 13,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 8,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 7.8% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.63% of the company’s stock.

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.