Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Shares Gap Up to $31.88

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $31.88, but opened at $35.46. Protagonist Therapeutics shares last traded at $34.81, with a volume of 213,389 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PTGX has been the subject of several analyst reports. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, June 14th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Monday, June 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Protagonist Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.00.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Up 8.7 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of 14.20 and a beta of 2.12. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $29.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.68.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.75. The firm had revenue of $254.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $300.00 million. As a group, analysts predict that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Protagonist Therapeutics news, Director William D. Waddill sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $280,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,000 shares in the company, valued at $420,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director William D. Waddill sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $280,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $420,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.31, for a total value of $707,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 549,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,558,892.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 69,234 shares of company stock valued at $2,250,386 in the last quarter. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Protagonist Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at about $69,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 353.2% in the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 5,202 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $202,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $210,000. 98.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.