571,825 Shares in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. $PTGX Bought by Nationale Nederlanden Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A.

Key Points

• Nationale Nederlanden Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. initiated a large new position in Protagonist Therapeutics, buying 571,825 shares worth about $49.9 million in the fourth quarter. The stake represented 4.4% of its portfolio and about 0.91% of PTGX.
• Insider selling has been notable, with Director Harold E. Selick and CEO Dinesh V. Patel both selling shares in recent transactions. Insiders sold 263,345 shares worth $26.7 million over the last 90 days.
• PTGX has outperformed expectations in its latest quarterly results, reporting $0.05 EPS versus an expected loss and revenue of $56.37 million, far above estimates. Analysts remain mostly positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.21.

Nationale Nederlanden Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. bought a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 571,825 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $49,943,000. Protagonist Therapeutics comprises 4.4% of Nationale Nederlanden Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A.'s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Nationale Nederlanden Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. owned about 0.91% of Protagonist Therapeutics at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 110.6% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 297 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 138.9% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 540 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $62,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 79.5% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,185 shares of the company's stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 222.4% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 951 shares of the company's stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.63% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Harold E. Selick sold 24,000 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $2,520,000.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 75,000 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.12, for a total transaction of $7,509,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 523,478 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $52,410,617.36. This represents a 12.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 263,345 shares of company stock worth $26,707,266 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.19% of the company's stock.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Down 0.1%

PTGX stock opened at $105.77 on Thursday. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.38 and a 52 week high of $111.45. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $101.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -58.44 and a beta of 1.85.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.50) by $0.55. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 154.88% and a negative return on equity of 17.76%. The company had revenue of $56.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.70 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Johnson Rice restated a "buy" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $115.21.

Protagonist Therapeutics Profile

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.

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