Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Reduces Stock Holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Free Report) by 14.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,872 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,367 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.07% of Protagonist Therapeutics worth $2,170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 28,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,112,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 337,809 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,039,000 after acquiring an additional 16,977 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB purchased a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth $679,000. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth $4,053,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 390,788 shares of the company's stock worth $15,084,000 after purchasing an additional 34,455 shares in the last quarter. 98.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Protagonist Therapeutics Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ PTGX traded down $0.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $53.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 318,158 shares, compared to its average volume of 996,427. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.67 and a 12-month high of $60.60. The firm has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.91 and a beta of 2.25. The business's 50 day moving average is $47.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.71.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.19) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.50) by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $28.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $30.44 million. Protagonist Therapeutics had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 9.22%. On average, analysts predict that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PTGX shares. Citigroup assumed coverage on Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $43.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $62.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.10.

Insider Buying and Selling at Protagonist Therapeutics

In other Protagonist Therapeutics news, CFO Asif Ali sold 1,756 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $80,776.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 61,065 shares in the company, valued at $2,808,990. This represents a 2.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Arturo Md Molina sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $570,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 83,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,784,360.76. This represents a 10.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.90% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.