Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.70 EPS

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.65) by $0.70, FiscalAI reports. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 282.83% and a negative return on equity of 19.89%. The firm had revenue of $56.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.70 million.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PTGX traded down $4.75 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $99.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 460,104 shares, compared to its average volume of 772,845. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $99.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -48.86 and a beta of 1.89. Protagonist Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $41.60 and a 1-year high of $107.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Arturo Md Molina sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.79, for a total value of $1,571,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 84,115 shares in the company, valued at $8,814,410.85. This represents a 15.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 54,641 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total transaction of $5,518,741.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 524,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,018,738. This trade represents a 9.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 158,215 shares of company stock valued at $15,539,786. Corporate insiders own 4.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 117.3% in the second quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $497,000 after buying an additional 4,853 shares during the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 5.0% in the third quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 6,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $460,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $413,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $412,000. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $382,000. 98.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PTGX shares. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $80.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Johnson Rice restated a “buy” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $113.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Protagonist Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.69.

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.