Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. $PTGX Shares Acquired by Great Lakes Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 145.9% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 90,371 shares, bringing its total holdings to 152,318 shares valued at approximately $7.37 million.
• Insider transactions included Director William D. Waddill selling 4,000 shares and CEO Dinesh V. Patel selling 22,065 shares, reducing their ownership respectively by 30.46% and 3.87%.
• Brokerages remain optimistic about Protagonist Therapeutics, with Citigroup affirming an "outperform" rating and JMP Securities increasing the target price to $69.00, while the stock currently holds an average rating of "Buy" among analysts.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its position in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Free Report) by 145.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 152,318 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 90,371 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned 0.25% of Protagonist Therapeutics worth $7,366,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. RTW Investments LP grew its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 5,498,545 shares of the company's stock valued at $212,244,000 after buying an additional 72,433 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,277,218 shares of the company's stock valued at $206,846,000 after buying an additional 57,181 shares during the period. BVF Inc. IL lifted its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 35.5% in the 1st quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 2,575,015 shares of the company's stock worth $124,528,000 after acquiring an additional 675,000 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 987,370 shares of the company's stock worth $47,749,000 after purchasing an additional 47,293 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 859,648 shares of the company's stock worth $41,573,000 after purchasing an additional 120,696 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.63% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William D. Waddill sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director directly owned 9,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $540,952.50. This trade represents a 30.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $570,533.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 520,603 shares in the company, valued at $28,518,632.34. The trade was a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 66,859 shares of company stock worth $3,687,577 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PTGX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Protagonist Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Friday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Protagonist Therapeutics currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $67.73.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Down 0.7%

Protagonist Therapeutics stock traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $58.44. 153,095 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 934,304. The company has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.56 and a beta of 2.22. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.31 and a twelve month high of $61.89. The company has a fifty day moving average of $55.70 and a 200-day moving average of $50.87.

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

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.