Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) CEO Dinesh Ph Patel Sells 24,890 Shares of Stock

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) CEO Dinesh Ph Patel sold 24,890 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.03, for a total value of $2,091,506.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 574,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,275,655.15. The trade was a 4.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Protagonist Therapeutics Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of PTGX opened at $83.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $86.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 134.00 and a beta of 2.26. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.70 and a 12-month high of $96.54.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.62) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.59) by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $4.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.41 million. Protagonist Therapeutics had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 6.86%. Analysts predict that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Protagonist Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PTGX. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 110.6% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 171.0% in the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 504 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics in the third quarter worth $29,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 201.5% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 609 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. 98.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Protagonist Therapeutics News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Protagonist Therapeutics this week:

• Negative Sentiment: CEO Dinesh V. Patel sold a total of 48,273 shares across three transactions (Jan. 23, Jan. 26 and Jan. 27) at prices between ~$83.19–$84.59, totaling roughly $4.06M. He still holds 574,505 shares. Large, repeated CEO sales may signal diversification or cashing-out at recent price levels and can be perceived negatively by the market. CEO filings
• Negative Sentiment: CFO Asif Ali sold 46,203 shares on Jan. 27 at an average price of $83.13 for about $3.84M, reducing his stake by ~43% to 60,320 shares. A CFO trimming nearly half of his position is a more notable red flag for investors because of the officer’s financial perspective and the size of the reduction. CFO filing
• Negative Sentiment: Insider Arturo Md Molina sold 13,151 shares on Jan. 23 (avg $82.42) and 5,000 shares on Jan. 27 (avg $82.00), totaling 18,151 shares and roughly $1.49M in proceeds; he retains 84,115 shares. Multiple insider sales by senior executives and directors can collectively amplify negative market perception. Insider filings

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PTGX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $68.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Johnson Rice set a $112.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Monday, October 13th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $70.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.77.

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 α4β7 integrin antagonist intended to block leukocyte migration to the gut in ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.