Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.05 EPS

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.05, FiscalAI reports. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 154.88% and a negative return on equity of 17.76%. The business had revenue of $213.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $199.81 million. Protagonist Therapeutics’s revenue for the quarter was up 3746.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Protagonist Therapeutics Trading Up 6.9%

Protagonist Therapeutics stock traded up $9.50 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $146.82. 491,854 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 740,195. The stock has a market cap of $9.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -80.77 and a beta of 1.78. Protagonist Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $50.49 and a 1-year high of $146.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $122.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.48.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Bryan Giraudo sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $600,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 31,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,182,500. This represents a 15.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director William D. Waddill sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.94, for a total value of $1,061,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,825 shares in the company, valued at $922,880.50. The trade was a 53.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 113,130 shares of company stock valued at $11,549,340 over the last quarter. Insiders own 5.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Protagonist Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 56.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,567,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,935,000 after buying an additional 564,134 shares during the last quarter. KVP Capital Advisors LP acquired a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $4,629,000. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 38.1% during the fourth quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 770 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted 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 valued at $276,992,000 after acquiring an additional 1,262,977 shares during the period. Finally, SummitTX Capital L.P. grew its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. now owns 42,266 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,692,000 after purchasing an additional 10,776 shares during the last quarter. 98.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PTGX. Barclays increased their price target on Protagonist Therapeutics from $151.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citizens Jmp upped their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research raised Protagonist Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Protagonist Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.14.

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.