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Protagonist Therapeutics (PTGX) Moves 10.7% Higher: Will This Strength Last?

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Protagonist Therapeutics (PTGX - Free Report) shares soared 10.7% in the last trading session to close at $12.70. The move was backed by solid volume with far more shares changing hands than in a normal session. This compares to the stock's 13.7% gain over the past four weeks.

This movement of the stock price is due to the momentum built by PTGX's Hepcidin Mimetic candidate, Rusfertide (PTG-300), which is currently being evaluated under three separate studies for Polycythemia Vera (PV). Enrollment has begun in the phase III PV study, VERIFY. The study is expected to be completed in the second half of 2023. The other two are phase II studies, REVIVE and PACIFIC, have completed enrollment while they are continuing in open label extension study.

This biopharmaceutical company is expected to post quarterly loss of $0.71 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +7.8%. Revenues are expected to be $10 million, up 16% from the year-ago quarter.

While earnings and revenue growth expectations are important in evaluating the potential strength in a stock, empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.

For Protagonist Therapeutics, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. And a stock's price usually doesn't keep moving higher in the absence of any trend in earnings estimate revisions. So, make sure to keep an eye on PTGX going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

Protagonist Therapeutics is part of the Zacks Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry. BioMarin Pharmaceutical (BMRN - Free Report) , another stock in the same industry, closed the last trading session 2.1% higher at $113.82. BMRN has returned 6.8% in the past month.

BioMarin's consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has remained unchanged over the past month at $0.37. Compared to the company's year-ago EPS, this represents a change of +1133.3%. BioMarin currently boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).


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