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

HC Wainwright reiterated their buy rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. HC Wainwright currently has a $50.00 price target on the stock.

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

Protagonist Therapeutics Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PTGX opened at $38.88 on Friday. Protagonist Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $24.22 and a 12-month high of $48.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.62 and a beta of 2.22. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.86.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.54) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.59) by $0.05. Protagonist Therapeutics had a return on equity of 34.68% and a net margin of 52.76%. The firm had revenue of $4.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.50 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Protagonist Therapeutics will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Arturo Md Molina sold 26,000 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.70, for a total transaction of $1,162,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,076,046.80. The trade was a 35.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Suneel Gupta sold 103,437 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were 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 represents a 28.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 209,863 shares of company stock valued at $9,689,847. 5.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 28,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 749.2% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 552 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 54.4% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares during the last quarter. 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.