Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $38.35, but opened at $50.08. Protagonist Therapeutics shares last traded at $53.10, with a volume of 1,702,646 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on PTGX shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $43.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Monday. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Protagonist Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.22.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.47 and a beta of 2.34. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $38.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.95.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Protagonist Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 5,359 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.18, for a total value of $204,606.62. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 540,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,627,126.80. The trade was a 0.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 5.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 20,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $779,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 28,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,112,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 54.4% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 737 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.63% of the company’s stock.

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.