Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Stock Price Up 5.6% – Here’s What Happened

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX)’s share price traded up 5.6% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $39.85 and last traded at $39.82. 127,334 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 553,557 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.69.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PTGX has been the topic of several research reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, December 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price objective on the stock. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Protagonist Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Friday, December 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.78.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a PE ratio of 14.28 and a beta of 2.23. The company has a 50 day moving average of $39.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.84.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.54) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.59) by $0.05. Protagonist Therapeutics had a return on equity of 34.68% and a net margin of 52.76%. The business had revenue of $4.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.50 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Arturo Md Molina sold 26,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.70, for a total transaction of $1,162,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 46,444 shares in the company, valued at $2,076,046.80. This represents a 35.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Suneel Gupta sold 103,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.04, for a total transaction of $4,762,239.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 256,174 shares in the company, valued at $11,794,250.96. This represents a 28.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 209,863 shares of company stock worth $9,689,847. Company insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Protagonist Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PTGX. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,308 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $224,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,876,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,432,000 after acquiring an additional 142,376 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 54.4% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. 98.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Protagonist Therapeutics

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, develops peptide-based drugs for hematology and blood disorders, and inflammatory and immunomodulatory diseases. It is developing Rusfertide (PTG-300), an injectable hepcidin mimetic that completed phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of polycythemia vera and other blood disorders; and JNJ-2113, an orally delivered investigational drug to block biological pathways that completed phase 2b clinical trials for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis; and PN-943, an orally delivered, gut-restricted alpha 4 beta 7 specific integrin antagonist completed a phase 2 clinical trials in patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis.