Insider Selling: Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Director Sells 24,000 Shares of Stock

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) Director Harold Selick sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $2,520,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 60,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,388,725. The trade was a 28.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Protagonist Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PTGX opened at $98.97 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $88.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.34. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.60 and a 1 year high of $105.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -48.28 and a beta of 2.23.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.69) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $7.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 million. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 19.89% and a negative net margin of 282.83%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 18.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 813,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,990,000 after purchasing an additional 128,171 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 8.9% during the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 305,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,289,000 after buying an additional 25,065 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 6,196,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $411,601,000 after buying an additional 24,000 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 2,043.8% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 41,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,740,000 after buying an additional 39,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 166,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,185,000 after acquiring an additional 18,074 shares during the last quarter. 98.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on PTGX shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $65.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Barclays increased their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $113.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Leerink Partners raised their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Protagonist Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.31.

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.