ADAR1 Capital Management LLC Trims Stake in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. $PTGX

Key Points

• ADAR1 Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 18.5%, now holding approximately 939,669 shares valued at $45.44 million, which constitutes 8.4% of its investment portfolio.
• Protagonist Therapeutics has seen significant interest from institutional investors, with nearly 99% of the stock owned by hedge funds and institutional investors, including Wellington Management’s massive 3,025.4% increase in its holdings.
• Wall Street analysts have a favorable outlook on Protagonist Therapeutics, with an average rating of "Buy" and a price target around $67.20, indicating potential for growth despite recent earnings miss.

ADAR1 Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Free Report) by 18.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 939,669 shares of the company's stock after selling 212,664 shares during the period. Protagonist Therapeutics accounts for about 8.4% of ADAR1 Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its biggest position. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.52% of Protagonist Therapeutics worth $45,442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 153.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 728 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 141.7% in the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,211 shares of the company's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at about $68,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 38.2% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,992 shares of the company's stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. 98.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ PTGX traded up $0.93 on Friday, hitting $60.53. The stock had a trading volume of 1,926,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 715,853. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $55.05 and a 200-day moving average of $50.03. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.31 and a 52-week high of $61.89. The company has a market capitalization 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.55) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by ($0.02). Protagonist Therapeutics had a return on equity of 8.12% and a net margin of 24.88%.The firm had revenue of $5.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.32 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PTGX has been the subject of a number of research reports. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. JMP Securities increased their price objective on 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 upgraded Protagonist Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 8th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Protagonist Therapeutics news, insider Arturo Md Molina sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $570,300.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 83,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,784,360.76. This trade represents a 10.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director William D. Waddill sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.25, for a total transaction of $237,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $540,952.50. This trade represents a 30.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 76,859 shares of company stock worth $4,257,877 in the last ninety days. 4.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Protagonist Therapeutics Company 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.