Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Given “Buy” Rating at HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright reissued their buy rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) in a research report report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $50.00 price target on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, December 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $58.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Friday, December 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.00.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of PTGX stock opened at $38.88 on Friday. Protagonist Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $24.22 and a 52-week high of $48.89. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.86. The company has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.62 and a beta of 2.22.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.54) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.59) by $0.05. Protagonist Therapeutics had a return on equity of 34.68% and a net margin of 52.76%. The company had revenue of $4.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.50 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Protagonist Therapeutics will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Protagonist Therapeutics

In related news, insider Suneel Gupta sold 103,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.04, for a total value of $4,762,239.48. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 256,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,794,250.96. This trade represents a 28.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Arturo Md Molina sold 1,906 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.98, for a total value of $78,107.88. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,903,275.12. The trade was a 3.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 209,863 shares of company stock worth $9,689,847. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PTGX. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 127.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 81,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,782,000 after acquiring an additional 45,674 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,107,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at about $2,250,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 7.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 565,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,448,000 after buying an additional 39,850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 3,099.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 320,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,437,000 after buying an additional 310,804 shares during the period. 98.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Protagonist Therapeutics

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, develops peptide-based drugs for hematology and blood disorders, and inflammatory and immunomodulatory diseases. It is developing Rusfertide (PTG-300), an injectable hepcidin mimetic that completed phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of polycythemia vera and other blood disorders; and JNJ-2113, an orally delivered investigational drug to block biological pathways that completed phase 2b clinical trials for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis; and PN-943, an orally delivered, gut-restricted alpha 4 beta 7 specific integrin antagonist completed a phase 2 clinical trials in patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis.