Johnson & Johnson Invests $300.22 Billion in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. $PTGX

Key Points

• Johnson & Johnson acquired 2.45 million shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in the second quarter, reportedly valued at approximately $300.22 billion, representing a 3.81% stake and 37.6% of J&J’s portfolio. The stated valuation appears inconsistent with the share count and market prices, which imply a value closer to $300 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 98.63%, while company insiders sold 127,000 shares worth $17.8 million in the last quarter under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $137.86 price target. PTGX recently reported quarterly EPS of $2.29, beating estimates, and revenue of $213.47 million, up 3,746.8% year over year.

Johnson & Johnson bought a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,449,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $300,220,852,000. Protagonist Therapeutics makes up approximately 37.6% of Johnson & Johnson's portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Johnson & Johnson owned about 3.81% of Protagonist Therapeutics at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 30.6% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,964 shares of the company's stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 2,334 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 37,403 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 283.6% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 134,269 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,493,000 after purchasing an additional 99,269 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $987,000. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 19,208 shares of the company's stock worth $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. 98.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Protagonist Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 65,761 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.11, for a total value of $9,805,622.71. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 523,478 shares of the company's stock, valued at $78,055,804.58. The trade was a 11.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director William D. Waddill sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.94, for a total transaction of $1,061,460.00. Following the sale, the director owned 7,825 shares in the company, valued at $922,880.50. The trade was a 53.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 127,000 shares of company stock valued at $17,818,139 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 5.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $151.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $118.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Protagonist Therapeutics to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $137.86.

Protagonist Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PTGX opened at $155.10 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.04 billion, a PE ratio of 150.58 and a beta of 1.78. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $54.18 and a one year high of $155.53. The business's fifty day moving average price is $129.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.59.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.02. Protagonist Therapeutics had a return on equity of 12.03% and a net margin of 29.40%.The company had revenue of $213.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.03 million. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3746.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 4.22 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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