Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on PTGX. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Johnson Rice reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Protagonist Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.93.

Protagonist Therapeutics Trading Down 1.7%

NASDAQ:PTGX opened at $137.64 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $8.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -76.04 and a beta of 1.79. Protagonist Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $50.49 and a twelve month high of $141.10. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $109.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.80.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $56.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.70 million. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 154.88% and a negative return on equity of 17.76%. On average, analysts expect that Protagonist Therapeutics will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Protagonist Therapeutics news, Director Bryan Giraudo sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 31,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,182,500. This trade represents a 15.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 75,000 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.12, for a total value of $7,509,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 523,478 shares in the company, valued at $52,410,617.36. This represents a 12.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 162,880 shares of company stock worth $16,539,792 in the last 90 days. 5.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Protagonist Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC raised its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 15.6% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 12,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,570,000 after buying an additional 1,725 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 7.2% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $89,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $518,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at about $245,000. 98.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.