Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $141.50 and last traded at $142.3450, with a volume of 1279 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $140.91.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PTGX shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, May 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Friday. Citizens Jmp boosted their price target on Protagonist Therapeutics from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Protagonist Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Down 0.1%

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $99.72. The company has a market capitalization of $9.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -77.76 and a beta of 1.79.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.50) by $0.55. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 17.76% and a negative net margin of 154.88%.The business had revenue of $56.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.70 million. Analysts anticipate that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Protagonist Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.12, for a total value of $7,509,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 523,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,410,617.36. This trade represents a 12.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bryan Giraudo sold 6,000 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $600,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 31,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,182,500. This trade represents a 15.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 161,130 shares of company stock worth $16,355,220. 5.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Protagonist Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 27.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,413,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $472,832,000 after buying an additional 1,156,461 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 18.5% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,207,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $177,281,000 after acquiring an additional 500,924 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 66.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,171,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,992,000 after acquiring an additional 1,262,977 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,891,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $304,866,000 after acquiring an additional 241,546 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 46.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,770,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,934,000 after purchasing an additional 874,013 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.63% of the company’s stock.

Protagonist Therapeutics Company Profile

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.