Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Director Sells 9,000 Shares of Stock

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) Director William Waddill sold 9,000 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.94, for a total value of $1,061,460.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $922,880.50. This trade represents a 53.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ PTGX traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $122.63. The stock had a trading volume of 1,037,824 shares, compared to its average volume of 743,077. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.38 and a 52-week high of $126.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $103.70 and a 200 day moving average of $94.76. The stock has a market cap of $7.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -67.75 and a beta of 1.85.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.50) by $0.55. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 154.88% and a negative return on equity of 17.76%. The company had revenue of $56.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.70 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 6,196,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $411,601,000 after purchasing an additional 24,000 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,413,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $472,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,156,461 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 18.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,207,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $177,281,000 after acquiring an additional 500,924 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 66.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,171,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,992,000 after purchasing an additional 1,262,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 9.1% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,891,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,866,000 after purchasing an additional 241,546 shares in the last quarter. 98.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citizens Jmp lifted their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, May 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Protagonist Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.21.

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.