Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Increases Stock Position in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. $PTGX

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 104.7% during Q2, now holding 91,875 shares valued at approximately $5.08 million.
• The stock is currently trading at $65.95, with a 12-month high of $66.70 and low of $33.31, reflecting its volatility in the market.
• Protagonist Therapeutics missed earnings expectations with a reported EPS of ($0.55), while analysts predict an EPS of 2.43 for the current fiscal year.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Free Report) by 104.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 91,875 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 47,003 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.15% of Protagonist Therapeutics worth $5,078,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,277,218 shares of the company's stock worth $206,846,000 after buying an additional 57,181 shares in the last quarter. BVF Inc. IL raised its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 35.5% during the first quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 2,575,015 shares of the company's stock worth $124,528,000 after acquiring an additional 675,000 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 5.0% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 987,370 shares of the company's stock worth $47,749,000 after acquiring an additional 47,293 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 54.2% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 897,699 shares of the company's stock worth $43,413,000 after acquiring an additional 315,372 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 16.3% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 859,648 shares of the company's stock worth $41,573,000 after acquiring an additional 120,696 shares during the period. 98.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Protagonist Therapeutics Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of PTGX opened at $65.95 on Thursday. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.31 and a 12-month high of $66.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $57.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.22 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 firm had revenue of $5.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.32 million. Equities research analysts predict that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on PTGX. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 8th. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.36.

Insider Transactions at Protagonist Therapeutics

In related news, Director William D. Waddill sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.25, for a total value of $257,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,130 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $329,602.50. This represents a 43.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 10,415 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.78, for a total transaction of $570,533.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 520,603 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,518,632.34. This represents a 1.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 70,859 shares of company stock valued at $3,944,577 in the last three months. 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.

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