Protagonist Therapeutics' (PTGX) Market Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at JMP Securities

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "market outperform" rating restated by investment analysts at JMP Securities in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $58.00 price target on the stock. JMP Securities' price target points to a potential upside of 56.40% from the company's current price.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on PTGX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Protagonist Therapeutics from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Protagonist Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, December 6th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $47.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $58.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy 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 $56.00.

Protagonist Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PTGX traded down $0.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $37.09. The company had a trading volume of 377,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 553,579. The stock has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.94 and a beta of 2.22. Protagonist Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $24.22 and a 12 month high of $48.89. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $38.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Suneel Gupta sold 103,437 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.04, for a total transaction of $4,762,239.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 256,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,794,250.96. This trade represents a 28.76 % 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 Arturo Md Molina sold 1,906 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.98, for a total value of $78,107.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,903,275.12. The trade was a 3.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 209,863 shares of company stock worth $9,689,847 in the last three months. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Protagonist Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 127.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 81,591 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,782,000 after purchasing an additional 45,674 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,107,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,250,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 565,503 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,448,000 after acquiring an additional 39,850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 3,099.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 320,832 shares of the company's stock worth $14,437,000 after buying an additional 310,804 shares in 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.