Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Stock Rated Outperform in New Coverage at Leerink Partners

Stock analysts at Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) in a research note issued on Monday, October 12th, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partners‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 33.67% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $178.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. UBS Group initiated coverage on Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Monday, October 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $184.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Protagonist Therapeutics from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $153.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.27.

Protagonist Therapeutics Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of PTGX traded up $1.02 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $142.14. 318,426 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 719,551. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.20 billion, a PE ratio of 138.00 and a beta of 1.53. Protagonist Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $75.44 and a 1-year high of $160.81. The business has a fifty day moving average of $143.56 and a 200-day moving average of $115.51.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.02. Protagonist Therapeutics had a return on equity of 12.03% and a net margin of 29.40%. The company had revenue of $213.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $212.03 million. The company’s revenue was up 3746.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Protagonist Therapeutics will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Protagonist Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 7,278 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.10, for a total value of $1,048,759.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 522,968 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,359,688.80. This represents a 1.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Asif Ali sold 58,629 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.78, for a total value of $8,312,419.62. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,365,445.34. This trade represents a 49.84% 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 283,629 shares of company stock worth $41,443,786 over the last ninety days. 5.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 7.8% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 7.2% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC boosted its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 9.3% during the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 2,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. 98.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Protagonist Therapeutics Company Profile

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing peptide-based medicines for immune-mediated and hematologic diseases. The company uses its proprietary peptide technology platform to design therapies intended to act on specific biological pathways and receptors.

Its leading program is icotrokinra, also known as JNJ-2113, an oral, targeted inhibitor of the interleukin-23 receptor being developed in collaboration with Janssen Pharmaceuticals for inflammatory and immune-mediated conditions, including psoriasis and inflammatory bowel diseases.