Jennison Associates LLC Purchases 740,847 Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. $PTGX

Key Points

• Jennison Associates LLC boosted its Protagonist Therapeutics stake by 223.7% in the first quarter, buying 740,847 additional shares and ending with 1,072,011 shares valued at about $113 million.
• Insider selling has been significant, including a 9,000-share sale by Director William D. Waddill and a 75,000-share sale by CEO Dinesh V. Patel; insiders have sold 161,130 shares over the past 90 days.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with several firms raising targets and ratings; the stock currently carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $123, while PTGX recently traded near $140.91 after strong quarterly earnings.

Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Free Report) by 223.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,072,011 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 740,847 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 1.67% of Protagonist Therapeutics worth $112,990,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 2,334 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 0.9% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 283.6% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $987,000. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.6% during the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 19,208 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,062,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.63% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Protagonist Therapeutics news, Director William D. Waddill sold 9,000 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.94, for a total transaction of $1,061,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,825 shares of the company's stock, valued at $922,880.50. The trade was a 53.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 75,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 523,478 shares of the company's stock, valued at $52,410,617.36. This represents a 12.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 161,130 shares of company stock worth $16,355,220 in the last ninety days. 5.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PTGX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Protagonist Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Friday. Citizens Jmp upped their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. 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 report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $119.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Two equities research 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 given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $123.00.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PTGX opened at $140.91 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $9.06 billion, a PE ratio of -77.85 and a beta of 1.79. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $113.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.72. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $50.49 and a one year high of $141.10.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.50) by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $56.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.70 million. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 154.88% and a negative return on equity of 17.76%. Equities research analysts predict that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Protagonist Therapeutics Company Profile

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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