Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. $PTGX Position Cut by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 74,827 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,716 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics were worth $4,971,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Commodore Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $59,415,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 218.0% during the second quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,092,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,369,000 after purchasing an additional 748,758 shares in the last quarter. BVF Inc. IL lifted its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 24.7% in the second quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 3,211,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $177,474,000 after purchasing an additional 636,026 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,311,000. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 18.5% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,207,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $177,281,000 after buying an additional 500,924 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.63% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lewis T. Williams sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.42, for a total value of $1,483,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,825 shares in the company, valued at $644,936.50. This trade represents a 69.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 34,438 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.48, for a total value of $2,840,446.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 580,505 shares in the company, valued at $47,880,052.40. This represents a 5.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 203,167 shares of company stock worth $16,889,199. Corporate insiders own 4.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $80.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $68.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered Protagonist Therapeutics from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Protagonist Therapeutics from $95.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.31.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PTGX opened at $94.24 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -45.97 and a beta of 2.23. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.20 and a 1-year high of $96.54. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $84.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.44.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.69) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by ($0.16). Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 282.83% and a negative return on equity of 19.89%. The company had revenue of $7.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Protagonist Therapeutics Company Profile

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc (NASDAQ: PTGX) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel, orally administered peptide-based therapies for immune-mediated and other serious diseases. The company leverages its proprietary Peptide 2.0 platform to design peptides that target G protein–coupled receptors and cytokine receptors, with the goal of combining the potency of biologics with the convenience of oral administration. Protagonist’s approach aims to address unmet medical needs in areas where injectable therapies have been the standard of care.

Among its lead programs is PTG-100, an oral ?4?7 integrin antagonist intended to block leukocyte migration to the gut in ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.