NEXTBio Capital Management LP Takes Position in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. $PTGX

Key Points

• NEXTBio Capital Management opened a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics, buying 229,619 shares worth about $20.1 million in the fourth quarter. The stake represents 11.8% of NEXTBio’s portfolio and about 0.37% of the company.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with 98.63% of PTGX shares held by institutions. Several large funds, including Vanguard, UBS, and Wellington, also increased their positions recently.
• Analysts remain mostly bullish on PTGX, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.21. The stock also recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, including $0.05 EPS versus a loss estimate and revenue well above forecasts.

NEXTBio Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 229,619 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,055,000. Protagonist Therapeutics accounts for approximately 11.8% of NEXTBio Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. NEXTBio Capital Management LP owned about 0.37% of Protagonist Therapeutics as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,413,690 shares of the company's stock worth $472,832,000 after buying an additional 1,156,461 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $72,114,000. Commodore Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $59,415,000. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 46.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,770,021 shares of the company's stock worth $241,934,000 after buying an additional 874,013 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 83.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,908,446 shares of the company's stock worth $126,778,000 after buying an additional 870,708 shares during the last quarter. 98.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Protagonist Therapeutics

In related news, Director Bryan Giraudo sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $600,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 31,825 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,182,500. This trade represents a 15.86% 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. Also, Director William D. Waddill sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.68, for a total value of $969,120.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,825 shares of the company's stock, valued at $842,596. This represents a 53.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 272,345 shares of company stock valued at $27,676,386 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 5.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PTGX. Wolfe Research began coverage on Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. Johnson Rice restated a "buy" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $113.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $115.21.

Protagonist Therapeutics Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of PTGX stock opened at $109.78 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -60.65 and a beta of 1.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $101.71 and a 200-day moving average of $93.22. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.38 and a 1-year high of $111.78.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 17.76% and a negative net margin of 154.88%.The company had revenue of $56.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.70 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current 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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