Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Insider Arturo Md Molina Sells 13,151 Shares of Stock

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) insider Arturo Md Molina sold 13,151 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.42, for a total transaction of $1,083,905.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 84,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,932,758.30. This represents a 13.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Arturo Md Molina also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, January 27th, Arturo Md Molina sold 5,000 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.00, for a total transaction of $410,000.00.
• On Tuesday, January 20th, Arturo Md Molina sold 9,514 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.48, for a total transaction of $784,714.72.

Protagonist Therapeutics Price Performance

PTGX opened at $83.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 134.00 and a beta of 2.26. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.62) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.59) by ($0.03). Protagonist Therapeutics had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 6.86%. The company had revenue of $4.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.41 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 110.6% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 297 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 0.4% in the third quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC now owns 61,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,109,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 138.9% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 540 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. 98.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PTGX has been the topic of several recent research reports. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $88.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $68.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Citizens Jmp lifted their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $69.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, October 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Protagonist Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.77.

Key Protagonist Therapeutics News

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

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.