Knott David M Jr Purchases 23,632 Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX)

Key Points

• Knott David M Jr increased its investment in Protagonist Therapeutics by 45.1%, acquiring an additional 23,632 shares, bringing its total holdings to 76,000 shares valued at approximately $3.68 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Principal Financial Group and New York State Common Retirement Fund, also raised their stakes in Protagonist Therapeutics during the first quarter, with institutional ownership now at 98.63%.
• Analysts have given Protagonist Therapeutics a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $67.20, despite recent earnings results that missed expectations.

Knott David M Jr raised its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Free Report) by 45.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,000 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 23,632 shares during the quarter. Protagonist Therapeutics comprises 1.7% of Knott David M Jr's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Knott David M Jr owned about 0.12% of Protagonist Therapeutics worth $3,675,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PTGX. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 2.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 347,095 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,786,000 after purchasing an additional 9,286 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 9.5% during the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 19,582 shares of the company's stock valued at $947,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP purchased a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at about $593,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 153.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 728 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 90.5% during the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 46,855 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,266,000 after purchasing an additional 22,263 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.63% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PTGX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 8th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price target on Protagonist Therapeutics from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $67.20.

Insider Transactions at Protagonist Therapeutics

In related news, insider Arturo Md Molina sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $570,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 83,892 shares in the company, valued at $4,784,360.76. The trade was a 10.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 10,415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $28,518,632.34. This trade represents a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 72,859 shares of company stock worth $4,020,877 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.90% of the company's stock.

Protagonist Therapeutics Price Performance

PTGX opened at $51.07 on Monday. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $33.31 and a one year high of $60.60. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.96 and a beta of 2.33.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.55) 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 the consensus estimate of $8.32 million. Protagonist Therapeutics had a net margin of 24.88% and a return on equity of 8.12%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.43 EPS 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.

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