Protagonist Therapeutics initiated with an Outperform at Leerink

Leerink analyst Faisal A. Khurshid initiated coverage of Protagonist Therapeutics (PTGX) with an Outperform rating and $73 price target. The firm points out that Protagonist’s peptide drug discovery platform has generated not one but two promising assets that are soon to be commercialized in large markets. Both are partnered, rusfertide with Takeda (TAK) and icotrokinra with Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), which gives reassurance on the commercial outlook and provides Protagonist with attractive royalty economics, the firm argues. Longer-term growth will be driven by emerging pipeline assets from the company’s now-validated platform, along with management continuing their track record of prudent capital allocation and business development execution, Leerink adds.