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

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading 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 changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on PTGX shares. StockNews.com downgraded Protagonist Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $43.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $58.00 price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, December 6th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. 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 MarketBeat.com, Protagonist Therapeutics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.89.

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Protagonist Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $37.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.76. The company has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68 and a beta of 2.34.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $56.65 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Protagonist Therapeutics

In other Protagonist Therapeutics news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 5,359 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 540,260 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,627,126.80. This trade represents a 0.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 5.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.