California State Teachers Retirement System Raises Position in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. $PTGX

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System increased its Protagonist Therapeutics stake by 12,217.3% in the second quarter, acquiring 7.17 million additional shares and ending with an 11.17% ownership position valued at approximately $885.9 million.
• Institutional ownership is substantial at 98.63%, with BlackRock initiating a roughly $1.26 billion position and Johnson & Johnson acquiring a stake worth about $300.2 million.
• Protagonist reported quarterly revenue of $213.47 million, up 3,746.8% year over year, and earnings of $2.29 per share, narrowly exceeding estimates. Analysts remain broadly positive, with 16 Buy ratings, two Holds, and a “Moderate Buy” consensus.

California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Free Report) by 12,217.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,227,439 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,168,762 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 11.17% of Protagonist Therapeutics worth $885,939,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,263,535,000. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 18.5% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,207,543 shares of the company's stock valued at $177,281,000 after purchasing an additional 500,924 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 66.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,171,423 shares of the company's stock valued at $276,992,000 after buying an additional 1,262,977 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 9.1% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,891,527 shares of the company's stock worth $304,866,000 after buying an additional 241,546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson & Johnson acquired a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the second quarter worth approximately $300,220,852. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.63% of the company's stock.

Protagonist Therapeutics Price Performance

PTGX stock opened at $148.18 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $143.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $117.17. The company has a market cap of $9.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 143.87 and a beta of 1.80. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.90 and a 12-month high of $160.81.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PTGX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group raised shares of Protagonist Therapeutics to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Johnson Rice set a $165.00 price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Protagonist Therapeutics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $186.00 in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Protagonist Therapeutics currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $147.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William Waddill sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was 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 approximately $922,880.50. The trade was a 53.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Dinsesh Patel sold 7,278 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.10, for a total value of $1,048,759.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 522,968 shares in the company, valued at $75,359,688.80. This represents a 1.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 234,000 shares of company stock valued at $34,192,827. 5.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Protagonist Therapeutics

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing peptide-based medicines for immune-mediated diseases and hematologic disorders. The company uses its peptide discovery and development platform to create therapies designed to selectively modulate disease-related biological pathways.

Protagonist's pipeline has included icotrokinra (also known as JNJ-2113), an oral peptide that targets the interleukin-23 receptor and is being developed for inflammatory and immune-mediated conditions in collaboration with Johnson & Johnson.

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