Alps Advisors Inc. Lowers Stake in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. $PTGX

Alps Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,203 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,017 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics were worth $1,940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 171.0% in the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 201.5% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 609 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 79.5% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Protagonist Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 34,438 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.48, for a total transaction of $2,840,446.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 580,505 shares in the company, valued at $47,880,052.40. The trade was a 5.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Arturo Md Molina sold 13,151 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.42, for a total value of $1,083,905.42. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 84,115 shares in the company, valued at $6,932,758.30. This represents a 13.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 185,167 shares of company stock worth $15,405,639. 4.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on PTGX shares. Barclays increased their price target on Protagonist Therapeutics from $88.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Citizens Jmp increased their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $69.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $70.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $95.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.64.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Up 0.7%

Protagonist Therapeutics stock opened at $83.88 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $85.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.35. The company has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 135.29 and a beta of 2.26. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.70 and a 52 week high of $96.54.

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.