Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Sets New 52-Week High - What's Next?

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $49.00 and last traded at $49.00, with a volume of 413 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $47.61.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Monday, September 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. JMP Securities dropped their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Cowen raised Protagonist Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price target on Protagonist Therapeutics from $41.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.57.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $45.47 and a 200-day moving average of $37.88. The stock has a market cap of $2.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.62 and a beta of 2.17.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.50). The company had revenue of $4.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $40.00 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.8 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Asif Ali sold 14,203 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.49, for a total transaction of $631,891.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,960 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,555,370.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Asif Ali sold 14,203 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.49, for a total value of $631,891.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,960 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,555,370.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William D. Waddill sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $360,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,000 shares in the company, valued at $540,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PTGX. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 41,758 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,208,000 after acquiring an additional 4,529 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 9.2% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 14,345 shares of the company's stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,192,971 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,373,000 after purchasing an additional 39,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $202,000. 98.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.