PTC Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTCT) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTCT) gapped up prior to trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $25.49, but opened at $27.00. PTC Therapeutics shares last traded at $27.60, with a volume of 86,284 shares.

The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.21) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $210.12 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.27 million.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on PTCT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of PTC Therapeutics in a report on Friday, April 12th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of PTC Therapeutics from $22.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of PTC Therapeutics from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of PTC Therapeutics from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.53.

Insider Transactions at PTC Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Matthew B. Klein sold 3,361 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.89, for a total value of $83,655.29. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 225,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,620,336.23. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 6,404 shares of company stock valued at $165,506. Corporate insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Armistice Capital LLC increased its holdings in PTC Therapeutics by 90.0% in the third quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 6,150,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $137,822,000 after purchasing an additional 2,914,000 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of PTC Therapeutics by 39.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,436,188 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $211,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,649,824 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in PTC Therapeutics by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,800,843 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $242,551,000 after acquiring an additional 855,354 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of PTC Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $15,058,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of PTC Therapeutics by 263.3% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 371,580 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,241,000 after purchasing an additional 269,292 shares during the last quarter.

PTC Therapeutics Stock Up 11.3 %

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $28.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of -3.39 and a beta of 0.67.

About PTC Therapeutics

PTC Therapeutics, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of medicines to patients with rare disorders in the United States and internationally. The company offers Translarna and Emflaza for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy; Upstaza to treat aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylas (AADC) deficiency, a central nervous system disorder; Tegsedi and Waylivra for the treatment of rare diseases; and Evrysdi to treat spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in adults and children.