Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $46.26 Million Stock Position in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. $PTGX

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management cut its Protagonist Therapeutics stake by 35.6% in Q4 and now owns 529,631 shares worth about $46.26 million, representing roughly 0.85% of the company.
• Other large investors — including Vanguard, Farallon, UBS, State Street and Wellington — boosted positions, leaving institutional ownership at about 98.63% (Vanguard alone holds ~5.41M shares worth ~$472.8M).
• Analysts are largely positive (13 Buys, consensus target $108.15), but the company recently missed quarterly expectations (EPS -$0.69 vs -$0.53; revenue $7.44M vs $14.92M) and insiders have been selling (CEO sold 54,641 shares), while the stock trades near $98.52.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Free Report) by 35.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 529,631 shares of the company's stock after selling 292,581 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.85% of Protagonist Therapeutics worth $46,258,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 6,196,006 shares of the company's stock worth $411,601,000 after buying an additional 24,000 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 27.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,413,690 shares of the company's stock valued at $472,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,156,461 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 18.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,207,543 shares of the company's stock valued at $177,281,000 after acquiring an additional 500,924 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 46.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,770,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $241,934,000 after acquiring an additional 874,013 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 83.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,908,446 shares of the company's stock worth $126,778,000 after purchasing an additional 870,708 shares during the period. 98.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Protagonist Therapeutics from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Johnson Rice reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $65.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Protagonist Therapeutics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $108.15.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:PTGX opened at $98.52 on Thursday. The business's 50 day moving average is $98.18 and its 200 day moving average is $88.69. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.28 and a 12-month high of $107.84. The stock has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -48.06 and a beta of 2.12.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.69) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.53) by ($0.16). Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 282.83% and a negative return on equity of 19.89%. The company had revenue of $7.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.92 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Protagonist Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 54,641 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total value of $5,518,741.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 524,938 shares in the company, valued at $53,018,738. This represents a 9.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Asif Ali sold 1,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.47, for a total transaction of $184,572.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,003 shares in the company, valued at $6,223,046.41. The trade was a 2.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 158,215 shares of company stock worth $15,539,786. 4.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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