Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) CFO Asif Ali Sells 46,203 Shares of Stock

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) CFO Asif Ali sold 46,203 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.13, for a total value of $3,840,855.39. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 60,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,014,401.60. The trade was a 43.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Asif Ali also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, January 20th, Asif Ali sold 8,588 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.48, for a total value of $708,338.24.

Protagonist Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock opened at $83.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of 134.00 and a beta of 2.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $86.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.41. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.70 and a 1 year high of $96.54.

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

Key Stories Impacting Protagonist Therapeutics

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PTGX shares. Citizens Jmp raised their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $69.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Johnson Rice set a $112.00 target price on Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Protagonist Therapeutics from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Protagonist Therapeutics from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Monday, October 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.77.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 11.6% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 110.6% during 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 during the period. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC grew its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC now owns 61,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,109,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.6% in the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 19,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,062,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 138.9% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. 98.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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