Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 9,286 Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Free Report) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 347,095 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,286 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.57% of Protagonist Therapeutics worth $16,786,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 153.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 728 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 5,200.0% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,643 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,612 shares during the period. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC bought a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $118,000. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $211,000. 98.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PTGX has been the subject of several recent research reports. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 8th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.10.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of PTGX stock traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $55.38. 445,617 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 840,261. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.84 and a beta of 2.26. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $50.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.21. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.50 and a 52 week high of $60.60.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.19) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.50) by $0.31. Protagonist Therapeutics had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 9.22%. The business had revenue of $28.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.44 million. Analysts expect that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Protagonist Therapeutics news, insider Arturo Md Molina sold 10,000 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $570,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 83,892 shares in the company, valued at $4,784,360.76. The trade was a 10.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Asif Ali sold 1,756 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $80,776.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 61,065 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,808,990. This trade represents a 2.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Protagonist Therapeutics Profile

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.