Focus Partners Wealth Boosts Position in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. $PTGX

Key Points

• Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 2.2%, owning approximately 0.70% of the company, valued at about $21 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Multiple hedge funds have modified their positions in Protagonist Therapeutics, with significant increases in holdings from firms like GAMMA Investing LLC and Smartleaf Asset Management during the first quarter.
• Protagonist's recent earnings report indicated a loss of ($0.55) EPS, slightly missing expectations, and analysts maintain a consensus "Buy" rating with a target price of $67.20.

Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 435,097 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,540 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Wealth owned 0.70% of Protagonist Therapeutics worth $21,041,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 54.2% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 897,699 shares of the company's stock worth $43,413,000 after acquiring an additional 315,372 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at $4,958,000. Axiom Investors LLC DE bought a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the first quarter worth $1,933,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the first quarter worth $947,000. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 145.9% in the first quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 152,318 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,366,000 after buying an additional 90,371 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.63% of the company's stock.

Protagonist Therapeutics Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of PTGX stock traded up $2.07 on Wednesday, reaching $60.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 306,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 933,397. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $56.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.07. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.31 and a 1 year high of $61.89. The company has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.84 and a beta of 2.22.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.55) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $5.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.32 million. Protagonist Therapeutics had a return on equity of 8.12% and a net margin of 24.88%. Equities research analysts forecast that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Friday, September 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Protagonist Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $68.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 22,065 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.05, for a total transaction of $1,214,678.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 548,538 shares in the company, valued at $30,197,016.90. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director William D. Waddill sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.25, for a total value of $237,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 9,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $540,952.50. This represents a 30.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 66,859 shares of company stock worth $3,687,577. Corporate insiders own 4.90% of the company's stock.

Protagonist Therapeutics 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.