First Trust Advisors LP Buys 41,404 Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. $PTGX

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors increased its Protagonist Therapeutics stake by 89.1% in the first quarter, purchasing 41,404 shares and bringing its holdings to 87,858 shares worth approximately $9.26 million. Institutional investors collectively own 98.63% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with Protagonist receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $123; several firms recently raised their targets to between $137 and $151.
• Company insiders sold 161,130 shares worth about $16.36 million over the past quarter, while the stock recently traded at $136.64 near its 52-week high. Protagonist also beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.05 in EPS versus the consensus estimate of a $0.50 loss.

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Free Report) by 89.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 87,858 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 41,404 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.14% of Protagonist Therapeutics worth $9,260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 30.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,964 shares of the company's stock valued at $482,000 after acquiring an additional 2,334 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 37,403 shares of the company's stock worth $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 283.6% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 134,269 shares of the company's stock worth $6,493,000 after purchasing an additional 99,269 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $987,000. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.6% in the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 19,208 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. 98.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $121.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citizens Jmp upped their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $119.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Insider Activity at Protagonist Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 75,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.12, for a total value of $7,509,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 523,478 shares of the company's stock, valued at $52,410,617.36. The trade was a 12.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Bryan Giraudo sold 36,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.14, for a total value of $3,605,040.00. Following the sale, the director owned 27,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,786,395.50. The trade was a 56.40% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 161,130 shares of company stock worth $16,355,220 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 5.19% of the company's stock.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Performance

Protagonist Therapeutics stock opened at $136.64 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -75.49 and a beta of 1.79. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $50.49 and a 52-week high of $143.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $120.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $103.23.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.50) by $0.55. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 154.88% and a negative return on equity of 17.76%. The company had revenue of $56.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.70 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 3.69 EPS for the current fiscal 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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