ADAR1 Capital Management LLC Makes New $117.78 Million Investment in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. $PTGX

Key Points

• ADAR1 Capital Management bought 960,863 Protagonist Therapeutics shares worth approximately $117.8 million, making PTGX its second-largest portfolio holding and representing a 1.48% company stake.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive view, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $140.53; several firms recently raised targets to between $153 and $175.
• Protagonist reported quarterly EPS of $2.29 versus the $2.27 consensus and revenue of $213.47 million, up 3,746.8% year over year. The stock opened at $150.59, near its 52-week high of $160.81, while insiders sold about $17.8 million in shares during the quarter.

ADAR1 Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 960,863 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $117,783,000. Protagonist Therapeutics comprises approximately 5.4% of ADAR1 Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC owned 1.48% of Protagonist Therapeutics as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PTGX. Johnson & Johnson bought a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $300,220,852,000. NEXTBio Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $20,055,000. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,924,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $17,387,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC bought a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,783,000. 98.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PTGX. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $118.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $130.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research downgraded Protagonist Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $151.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Protagonist Therapeutics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $140.53.

Protagonist Therapeutics Price Performance

PTGX stock opened at $150.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.74 billion, a PE ratio of 146.21 and a beta of 1.78. The company's 50-day moving average is $136.34 and its 200-day moving average is $111.31. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.50 and a 1 year high of $160.81.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $213.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.03 million. Protagonist Therapeutics had a return on equity of 12.03% and a net margin of 29.40%.Protagonist Therapeutics's revenue was up 3746.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 65,761 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.11, for a total value of $9,805,622.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 523,478 shares in the company, valued at $78,055,804.58. This trade represents a 11.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director William D. Waddill sold 9,000 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.94, for a total transaction of $1,061,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,825 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $922,880.50. The trade was a 53.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 127,000 shares of company stock worth $17,818,139. 5.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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