1,324,498 Shares in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. $PTGX Purchased by Bank of America Corp DE

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 1.32 million PTGX shares worth approximately $162.4 million, giving it a 2.05% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 98.63% of Protagonist Therapeutics.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable: 16 analysts rate the stock Buy and two rate it Hold, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $147.13.
• Protagonist reported quarterly EPS of $2.29, slightly exceeding estimates, while revenue reached $213.47 million—up 3,746.8% year over year. The stock opened at $143.70, near its 52-week high of $160.81, although insiders have sold $34.2 million of shares over the past three months.

Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,324,498 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $162,357,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 2.05% of Protagonist Therapeutics as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the second quarter worth approximately $1,263,535,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,891,527 shares of the company's stock worth $304,866,000 after acquiring an additional 241,546 shares in the last quarter. Johnson & Johnson acquired a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $300,220,852. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $261,039,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,452,928 shares of the company's stock worth $126,920,000 after purchasing an additional 36,282 shares during the last quarter. 98.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on PTGX shares. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Monday, August 31st. HC Wainwright increased their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Zacks Research lowered Protagonist Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Protagonist Therapeutics from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Protagonist Therapeutics from $178.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $147.13.

Protagonist Therapeutics Trading Up 0.6%

NASDAQ:PTGX opened at $143.70 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $143.69 and a 200-day moving average of $118.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.30 billion, a PE ratio of 139.52 and a beta of 1.80. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.91 and a 52 week high of $160.81.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.02. Protagonist Therapeutics had a return on equity of 12.03% and a net margin of 29.40%.The business had revenue of $213.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.03 million. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3746.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Protagonist Therapeutics

In related news, Director William D. Waddill sold 9,000 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.94, for a total value of $1,061,460.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,825 shares in the company, valued at $922,880.50. This trade represents a 53.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 65,761 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.11, for a total transaction of $9,805,622.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 523,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,055,804.58. This represents a 11.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 234,000 shares of company stock valued at $34,192,827. Corporate insiders own 5.19% of the company's stock.

Protagonist Therapeutics Profile

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing peptide-based medicines for immune-mediated diseases and hematologic disorders. The company uses its peptide discovery and development platform to create therapies designed to selectively modulate disease-related biological pathways.

Protagonist's pipeline has included icotrokinra (also known as JNJ-2113), an oral peptide that targets the interleukin-23 receptor and is being developed for inflammatory and immune-mediated conditions in collaboration with Johnson & Johnson.

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