Informed Momentum Co LLC Invests $3.35 Million in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX)

Key Points

• Informed Momentum Co LLC acquired 69,181 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, representing a new stake worth approximately $3.35 million, increasing institutional ownership to 98.63% of the company.
• Protagonist Therapeutics reported earnings of ($0.55) per share for the last quarter, missing analysts' estimates, with revenues of $5.55 million compared to expected $8.32 million.
• Analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Protagonist, with a target price of $67.20, following various upgrades and re-evaluations by multiple brokerages.

Informed Momentum Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 69,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,346,000. Informed Momentum Co LLC owned about 0.11% of Protagonist Therapeutics as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $315,000. Knott David M Jr lifted its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 45.1% in the 1st quarter. Knott David M Jr now owns 76,000 shares of the company's stock worth $3,675,000 after purchasing an additional 23,632 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 27.3% in the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 189,031 shares of the company's stock worth $9,142,000 after purchasing an additional 40,542 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,388,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $200,000. Institutional investors own 98.63% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Protagonist Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 22,065 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.05, for a total value of $1,214,678.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 548,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,197,016.90. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Arturo Md Molina sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $570,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 83,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,784,360.76. This represents a 10.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 72,859 shares of company stock worth $4,020,877 over the last quarter. 4.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PTGX. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Protagonist Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 8th. JMP Securities lifted their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Protagonist Therapeutics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $67.20.

Protagonist Therapeutics Price Performance

PTGX traded up $1.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $56.07. 469,606 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 940,340. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.31 and a fifty-two week high of $60.60. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $54.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.76. The stock has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.10 and a beta of 2.33.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.55) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.53) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $5.55 million during 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.