Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $41.65, but opened at $43.30. Protagonist Therapeutics shares last traded at $44.70, with a volume of 89,667 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PTGX shares. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $58.00 price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded Protagonist Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. JMP Securities decreased their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Protagonist Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $53.57.

Protagonist Therapeutics Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.82 and a beta of 2.17. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $45.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.02.

Insider Buying and Selling at Protagonist Therapeutics

In other Protagonist Therapeutics news, CFO Asif Ali sold 14,203 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,960 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,555,370.40. This trade represents a 28.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director William D. Waddill sold 8,000 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $360,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,000 shares in the company, valued at $540,000. This represents a 40.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,109 shares of company stock worth $1,069,999. 5.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Protagonist Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PTGX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,192,971 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,373,000 after acquiring an additional 39,055 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,107,000. Seven Eight Capital LP grew its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 426.9% in the 2nd quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 36,793 shares of the company's stock worth $1,275,000 after purchasing an additional 29,810 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 9.1% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 204,299 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,079,000 after purchasing an additional 17,065 shares during the period. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,112,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

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