Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) CEO Dinesh Ph Patel Sells 54,641 Shares of Stock

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) CEO Dinesh Ph Patel sold 54,641 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total value of $5,518,741.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 524,938 shares in the company, valued at $53,018,738. This trade represents a 9.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Performance

Protagonist Therapeutics stock opened at $104.31 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -50.88 and a beta of 2.23. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.60 and a fifty-two week high of $105.69. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $88.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.90.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.69) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.53) by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $7.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 million. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 19.89% and a negative net margin of 282.83%. As a group, analysts forecast that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PTGX has been the topic of a number of research reports. 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 research report on Thursday, March 19th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $113.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Protagonist Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.31.

Institutional Trading of Protagonist Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 11.6% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 110.6% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 297 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 13,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 8,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. 98.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Protagonist Therapeutics

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.