Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Leerink Partners Analyst Says

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) had its price target upped by equities researchers at Leerink Partners from $107.00 to $110.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Leerink Partners’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 8.18% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Protagonist Therapeutics from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $80.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citizens Jmp raised their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Protagonist Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.31.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock traded up $4.59 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $101.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,917,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 788,531. Protagonist Therapeutics has a one year low of $39.60 and a one year high of $105.69. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.45. The stock has a market cap of $6.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -49.60 and a beta of 2.23.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.69) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by ($0.16). Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 19.89% and a negative net margin of 282.83%.The business had revenue of $7.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Protagonist Therapeutics will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 4,068 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.19, for a total transaction of $338,416.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,793,070.95. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Asif Ali sold 46,203 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.13, for a total transaction of $3,840,855.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 60,320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,014,401.60. This trade represents a 43.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 203,167 shares of company stock worth $16,889,199. 4.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PTGX. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 30.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $482,000 after buying an additional 2,334 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 37,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,810,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 283.6% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 134,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,493,000 after purchasing an additional 99,269 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 43.2% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,320,000 after purchasing an additional 7,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 21.2% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the period. 98.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Protagonist Therapeutics News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Protagonist Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: FDA approved ICOTYDE for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis; approval makes ICOTYDE the first oral IL-23R targeted peptide, and triggered a $50M milestone payment to Protagonist while unlocking 6–10% royalties plus up to $580M in future milestones. AccessWire: FDA approval
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary highlights that J&J’s FDA approval and commercial rollout of the psoriasis pill should create “significant value” for Protagonist given its economics and unique oral IL‑23R profile. MSN: Wall Street commentary
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target from $115 to $125 and kept a Buy rating, implying material upside versus recent levels; this is a strong institutional endorsement of PTGX’s commercial prospects. Benzinga: Citigroup PT raise
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays bumped its target from $113 to $119 and reiterated an Overweight rating, adding to the cluster of upgrades supporting share-price momentum. Benzinga: Barclays PT raise
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its target from $95 to $106 and maintained an Overweight rating, rounding out multiple broker upgrades that likely pushed buying interest today. Benzinga / TickerReport: JPMorgan PT raise
• Neutral Sentiment: Company-hosted materials and third‑party coverage are available (webcast transcript, slideshow, and industry write‑ups) for investors wanting details on trial data, safety profile, and commercialization terms. These are useful for modeling revenue/royalty timing but contain no new numeric surprises. Seeking Alpha: Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry commentary (BioSpace, Seeking Alpha) frames the approval as disruptive to incumbent immunology franchises, which is strategically positive but will take time to translate into market share and royalties. BioSpace: Industry impact

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.