Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $37.59, but opened at $40.81. Protagonist Therapeutics shares last traded at $39.09, with a volume of 324,922 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PTGX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $43.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Friday, December 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $62.00 target price for the company. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $58.00 price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Protagonist Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.89.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.45 and a beta of 2.34.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $2.07. Protagonist Therapeutics had a return on equity of 34.68% and a net margin of 52.76%. The firm had revenue of $170.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $56.65 million. Analysts anticipate that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Protagonist Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 5,359 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.18, for a total value of $204,606.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 540,260 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,627,126.80. This represents a 0.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning acquired a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $338,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,107,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $866,000. Finally, Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 756.4% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 17,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $780,000 after acquiring an additional 15,301 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.63% of the company’s stock.

Protagonist Therapeutics Company Profile

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.