149,908 Shares in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. $PTGX Purchased by Panagora Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. acquired 149,908 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics valued at approximately $7.25 million, representing 0.24% ownership of the company.
• Several hedge funds, including Magnetar Financial and Trexquant Investment, made new or increased investments in Protagonist Therapeutics during the first quarter.
• Protagonist Therapeutics received a range of analyst ratings, with a current average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.20, despite recent earnings missing analyst estimates.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 149,908 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,250,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned 0.24% of Protagonist Therapeutics at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth $539,000. Trexquant Investment LP boosted its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 103,983 shares of the company's stock worth $5,029,000 after buying an additional 11,195 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth $375,000. Axiom Investors LLC DE bought a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth $1,933,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth $2,746,000. 98.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Arturo Md Molina sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $570,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 83,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,784,360.76. This represents a 10.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 22,065 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.05, for a total transaction of $1,214,678.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 548,538 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,197,016.90. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 76,859 shares of company stock worth $4,257,877. 4.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, August 7th. JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $67.20.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Up 1.6%

Protagonist Therapeutics stock traded up $0.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $60.53. The company had a trading volume of 1,926,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 715,853. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.31 and a 52 week high of $61.89. The company has a 50 day moving average of $55.05 and a 200-day moving average of $49.96. The firm has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.47 and a beta of 2.22.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.55) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.53) by ($0.02). Protagonist Therapeutics had a net margin of 24.88% and a return on equity of 8.12%. The business had revenue of $5.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.32 million. On average, analysts predict that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Protagonist Therapeutics Profile

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.