Advertisement
Canada markets open in 8 hours 37 minutes

  • S&P/TSX

    21,885.38
    +11.66 (+0.05%)
     

  • S&P 500

    5,048.42
    -23.21 (-0.46%)
     

  • DOW

    38,085.80
    -375.12 (-0.98%)
     

  • CAD/USD

    0.7324
    +0.0001 (+0.01%)
     

  • CRUDE OIL

    83.87
    +0.30 (+0.36%)
     

  • Bitcoin CAD

    87,799.38
    -33.27 (-0.04%)
     

  • CMC Crypto 200

    1,387.17
    +4.60 (+0.33%)
     

  • GOLD FUTURES

    2,347.40
    +4.90 (+0.21%)
     

  • RUSSELL 2000

    1,981.12
    -14.31 (-0.72%)
     

  • 10-Yr Bond

    4.7060
    +0.0540 (+1.16%)
     

  • NASDAQ futures

    17,771.25
    +203.75 (+1.16%)
     

  • VOLATILITY

    15.37
    -0.60 (-3.76%)
     

  • FTSE

    8,078.86
    +38.48 (+0.48%)
     

  • NIKKEI 225

    38,037.96
    +409.48 (+1.09%)
     

  • CAD/EUR

    0.6828
    +0.0007 (+0.10%)
     

Today’s Research Reports on Stocks to Watch: Protagonist Therapeutics and Intercept Pharmaceuticals

ACCESSWIRE

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 7, 2018 / Biotech stocks Protagonist Therapeutics and Intercept Pharmaceuticals were heading higher on Monday after positive developments and analyst upgrades. Protagonist soared after announcing results from the Protagonist PROPEL study and that it has signed a securities purchase agreement with investors including BVF Partners L.P. and their affiliates for the sale of 2,750,000 shares of common stock for gross proceeds of $22 million. Shares of Intercept went higher on two analyst price target increases.

RDI Initiates Coverage on:

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc.
https://rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=PTGX

Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
https://rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=ICPT

ADVERTISEMENT

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. shares closed up 58.63% yesterday on nearly 5.2 million shares traded. The biopharmaceutical company, which is leveraging its proprietary technology platform to discover and develop novel peptide-based drugs, has signed a securities purchase agreement with investors including BVF Partners L.P. and their affiliates for the sale of 2,750,000 shares of common stock for gross proceeds of $22 million. The investors also received five-year warrants to purchase 1,375,000 shares of common stock at $10.00 per share and 1,375,000 shares of common stock at $15.00 per share. Proceeds from this financing will be put towards the advance development of drug candidate PTG-100. PTG-100 is an oral alpha-4-beta-7 integrin antagonist peptide that is under evaluation for potential treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases. The company also announced results from an independent blinded re-analysis of the Phase 2 PROPEL study of oral alpha-4-beta-7 integrin antagonist PTG-100 for the treatment of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). No safety concerns were noted. William J. Sandborn, M.D., Chief, Division of Gastroenterology, Professor of Medicine at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, stated, "It is highly encouraging to see the results that support further study of PTG-100 as there is a clear importance for an oral alpha-4-beta-7 integrin antagonist in expanding the current treatment paradigm."

Access RDI's Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. Research Report at:
https://rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=PTGX

Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. shares closed up 17.94% on about 2.3 million shares traded on Monday. Upgrades from Goldman Sachs and Wedbush sent shares flying. Analyst Salveen Richter of Goldman's upgraded the stock from "sell" to "buy" and increased the firm's 12-month price target from $46 to a staggering $157 a share. Wedbush went even further and put a $217 price target on the stock from $203. The firm has an "outperform" rating on shares. Goldman is expecting a 60-percent upside driven by positive Phase 3 results for Ocaliva for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis due in the first half of 2019. He noted, "we expect Ocaliva's clinical profile, differentiated mechanism and first-mover status to provide an 18-month to two-year advantage prior to the second-generation therapeutics entering the NASH market." Wedbush analyst Liana Moussatos said, "Q2 OCALIVA net sales growth (22.8 percent quarter-over-quarter) suggests to us that the overhang on OCALIVA sales is lifting after Q1 revenues temporarily stagnated due to improper dosing of fragile patients." The analyst also said, "Management reiterated guidance of $170 million to $185 million in 2018 OCALIVA net sales, giving us further confidence in sustained growth.”

Access RDI's Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Research Report at:
https://rdinvesting.com/news/?ticker=ICPT

Our Actionable Research on Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTGX) and Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ICPT) can be downloaded free of charge at Research Driven Investing.

Research Driven Investing

We are committed to providing relevant and actionable information for the self-directed investor. Our research is reputed for being a leader in trusted, in-depth analysis vital for informed strategic trading decisions. The nimble investor can leverage our analysis and collective expertise to execute a disciplined approach to stock selection.

RDInvesting has not been compensated; directly or indirectly; for producing or publishing this document.

Disclaimer: This article is written by an independent contributor of RDInvesting.com and reviewed by Nadia Noorani, CFA® charter holder. RDInvesting.com is neither a registered broker-dealer nor a registered investment advisor. For more information please read our full disclaimer at www.rdinvesting.com/disclaimer.

CONTACT

For any questions, inquiries, or comments reach out to us directly at:

Address:

Research Driven Investing, Unit #901 511 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY, 10011

Email:

contact@rdinvesting.com

CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.

SOURCE: RDInvesting.com