Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $114.49 and last traded at $113.2270, with a volume of 1524436 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $112.86.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PTGX has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $113.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $135.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.21.

Protagonist Therapeutics Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $7.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -63.72 and a beta of 1.86. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.07.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.50) by $0.55. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 17.76% and a negative net margin of 154.88%.The company had revenue of $56.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.70 million. Equities research analysts predict that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Protagonist Therapeutics news, Director Harold E. Selick sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $2,520,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 60,845 shares in the company, valued at $6,388,725. This represents a 28.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bryan Giraudo sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $600,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 31,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,182,500. The trade was a 15.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 272,345 shares of company stock valued at $27,676,386 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 5.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PTGX. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 30.6% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $482,000 after acquiring an additional 2,334 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 0.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 37,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,810,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 283.6% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 134,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,493,000 after purchasing an additional 99,269 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $987,000. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.6% during the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 19,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in 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.