BlackRock Inc. Makes New Investment in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. $PTGX

Key Points

• BlackRock initiated a major PTGX position in the second quarter, purchasing 10.3 million shares valued at approximately $1.26 billion, or 16.03% of Protagonist Therapeutics. Institutional investors collectively own 98.63% of the company.
• Analysts remain bullish, with UBS and Goldman Sachs upgrading the stock to “buy” and the consensus rating at “Moderate Buy”. The average price target is $140.53, with individual targets reaching as high as $186.
• Protagonist reported quarterly EPS of $2.29, slightly above expectations, and revenue of $213.47 million, up 3,746.8% year over year. Shares opened at $150.69, near their 52-week high of $160.81, while insiders sold approximately $17.8 million of stock during the quarter.

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 10,307,837 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,263,535,000. BlackRock Inc. owned approximately 16.03% of Protagonist Therapeutics as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PTGX. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 30.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,964 shares of the company's stock valued at $482,000 after buying an additional 2,334 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 0.9% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 37,403 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,810,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 283.6% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 134,269 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,493,000 after acquiring an additional 99,269 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $987,000. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.6% in the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 19,208 shares of the company's stock worth $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on PTGX. UBS Group upgraded Protagonist Therapeutics to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Johnson Rice set a $165.00 target price on Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Barclays increased their price target on Protagonist Therapeutics from $151.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Citizens Jmp raised their price target on Protagonist Therapeutics from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Protagonist Therapeutics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $186.00 in a research note on Monday, August 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $140.53.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 34,239 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.52, for a total transaction of $5,085,176.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 523,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,746,952.56. The trade was a 6.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director William D. Waddill sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.94, for a total value of $1,061,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 7,825 shares of the company's stock, valued at $922,880.50. This trade represents a 53.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 currently owned by insiders.

Protagonist Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock opened at $150.69 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.75 billion, a PE ratio of 146.30 and a beta of 1.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $133.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.85. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $213.47 million for 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%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 3746.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

About Protagonist Therapeutics

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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