7,477 Shares in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. $PTGX Purchased by Fred Alger Management LLC

Key Points

• Fred Alger Management LLC invested approximately $362,000 in Protagonist Therapeutics, acquiring 7,477 shares in the first quarter, indicating growing interest from institutional investors in the biotech company.
• Wall Street analysts generally maintain a positive outlook on Protagonist Therapeutics, with several firms raising their price targets; for example, JMP Securities increased their target from $67.00 to $69.00.
• Insider trading activity includes significant sales by Director William D. Waddill and CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel, suggesting some shifts in ownership, although company insiders still hold a notable 4.90% of the stock.

Fred Alger Management LLC purchased a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 7,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $362,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PTGX. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 153.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 728 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 141.7% during the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,211 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at about $68,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 38.2% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,992 shares of the company's stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 551 shares during the period. 98.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Up 0.4%

NASDAQ PTGX traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $58.59. The company had a trading volume of 633,948 shares, compared to its average volume of 903,412. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.07. The firm has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.70 and a beta of 2.22. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.31 and a fifty-two week high of $61.89.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.53) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $5.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.32 million. Protagonist Therapeutics had a return on equity of 8.12% and a net margin of 24.88%. Equities analysts forecast that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 10,415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.78, for a total value of $570,533.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 520,603 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,518,632.34. This trade represents a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director William D. Waddill sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.25, for a total transaction of $237,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 9,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $540,952.50. The trade was a 30.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,859 shares of company stock valued at $3,687,577 over the last 90 days. 4.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on PTGX. JMP Securities raised their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Protagonist Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 8th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Protagonist Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.73.

Protagonist Therapeutics Company 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.