Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Raises Stock Position in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. $PTGX

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) by 9.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 581,083 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 51,452 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics were worth $61,246,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PTGX. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 110.6% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 13,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,170,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 8,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $751,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC now owns 61,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,109,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. 98.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on PTGX shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Protagonist Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Johnson Rice reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Protagonist Therapeutics news, Director William D. Waddill sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director directly owned 7,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $922,880.50. This represents a 53.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.12, for a total value of $7,509,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 523,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,410,617.36. This trade represents a 12.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 162,880 shares of company stock valued at $16,539,792. Company insiders own 5.19% of the company’s stock.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PTGX opened at $121.63 on Tuesday. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.38 and a 1 year high of $126.59. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $104.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.45. The firm has a market cap of $7.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -67.20 and a beta of 1.86.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.50) by $0.55. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 17.76% and a negative net margin of 154.88%.The firm had revenue of $56.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.70 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current 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.