Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $105.99 and last traded at $105.40, with a volume of 944654 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $99.87.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Leerink Partners increased their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Weiss Ratings cut Protagonist Therapeutics from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on Protagonist Therapeutics from $80.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $113.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.31.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Up 5.5%

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.29. The company has a market cap of $6.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -51.41 and a beta of 2.23.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last posted 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). The firm had revenue of $7.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.92 million. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 282.83% and a negative return on equity of 19.89%. As a group, research analysts expect that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Protagonist Therapeutics

In other Protagonist Therapeutics news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 54,641 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total value of $5,518,741.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 524,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,018,738. The trade was a 9.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Asif Ali sold 24,765 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.24, for a total transaction of $2,581,503.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 60,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,332,892.72. The trade was a 28.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 321,632 shares of company stock worth $29,087,253 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PTGX. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 30.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $482,000 after acquiring an additional 2,334 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 0.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 37,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 283.6% in the first 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. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 7.9% during the second quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 93,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,184,000 after purchasing an additional 6,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 12.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 166,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,185,000 after purchasing an additional 18,074 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.