Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $109.24 and last traded at $108.5090, with a volume of 72449 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $105.87.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Johnson Rice reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.21.

Protagonist Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $101.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.78. The company has a market cap of $6.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -60.05 and a beta of 1.85.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Protagonist Therapeutics

In other Protagonist Therapeutics news, Director Bryan Giraudo sold 36,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.14, for a total transaction of $3,605,040.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 27,825 shares in the company, valued at $2,786,395.50. The trade was a 56.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.12, for a total transaction of $7,509,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 523,478 shares in the company, valued at $52,410,617.36. This trade represents a 12.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 263,345 shares of company stock valued at $26,707,266. Insiders own 5.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 110.6% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Greenline Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 138.9% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 540 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 222.4% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 951 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. 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 ?4?7 integrin antagonist intended to block leukocyte migration to the gut in ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.