Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) Shares Acquired by China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Free Report) by 48.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,772 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,135 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics were worth $908,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 85.7% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,679 shares of the company's stock worth $807,000 after acquiring an additional 7,698 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in the first quarter worth about $117,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. lifted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 22.0% in the first quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 1,526 shares of the company's stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 142.5% in the first quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 163,483 shares of the company's stock worth $7,906,000 after buying an additional 96,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 2.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 347,095 shares of the company's stock worth $16,786,000 after buying an additional 9,286 shares in the last quarter. 98.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ PTGX traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $52.35. 92,941 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 839,965. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $49.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.84. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $32.50 and a one year high of $60.60. The company has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.67 and a beta of 2.26.

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

Insider Activity at Protagonist Therapeutics

In other news, insider Arturo Md Molina sold 10,000 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 83,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,784,360.76. The trade was a 10.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Asif Ali sold 1,756 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $80,776.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 61,065 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,808,990. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on PTGX. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Citigroup assumed coverage on Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.10.

About Protagonist Therapeutics

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.