Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Price Target Raised to $175.00

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) had its price target increased by research analysts at Citigroup from $130.00 to $175.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s target price indicates a potential upside of 19.78% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research raised shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Johnson Rice set a $165.00 price target on Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Friday, July 17th. Citizens Jmp increased their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Two investment 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.71.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Up 6.4%

PTGX traded up $8.79 on Thursday, hitting $146.11. The company had a trading volume of 552,435 shares, compared to its average volume of 740,407. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $122.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.48. Protagonist Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $50.49 and a 12-month high of $148.00. The company has a market cap of $9.40 billion, a PE ratio of -80.72 and a beta of 1.78.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.05. 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $199.81 million. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3746.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Protagonist Therapeutics will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Protagonist Therapeutics

In related news, Director Bryan Giraudo sold 6,000 shares of the company’s 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 directly owned 31,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,182,500. This represents a 15.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director William D. Waddill sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.94, for a total transaction of $1,061,460.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $922,880.50. This trade represents a 53.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 113,130 shares of company stock valued at $11,549,340. Corporate insiders own 5.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $43,920,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $380,000. Johnson & Johnson purchased a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at $300,220,852,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 7.5% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 21,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,623,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC increased its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 15.6% during the second quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 12,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,570,000 after purchasing an additional 1,725 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.