State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 20,969 Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. $PTGX

Key Points

• State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its Protagonist Therapeutics stake by 55.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 20,969 shares and leaving it with 16,987 shares worth about $1.48 million.
• Insider selling has been notable, including CEO Dinesh V. Patel’s sale of 54,641 shares for about $5.5 million and Director Lewis T. Williams’ sale of 18,000 shares. Insiders have sold 138,215 shares over the last 90 days.
• PTGX has seen strong analyst support and solid quarterly results, with the company posting $0.05 EPS versus a loss expected and revenue of $56.37 million versus $11.70 million estimated. The stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $113.69.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its position in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Free Report) by 55.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,987 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,969 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics were worth $1,484,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 27.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,413,690 shares of the company's stock valued at $472,832,000 after buying an additional 1,156,461 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth about $72,114,000. Commodore Capital LP purchased a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $59,415,000. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 46.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,770,021 shares of the company's stock worth $241,934,000 after purchasing an additional 874,013 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings 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 valued at $126,778,000 after purchasing an additional 870,708 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.63% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Protagonist Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 54,641 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total transaction of $5,518,741.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 524,938 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,018,738. This represents a 9.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Lewis T. Williams sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.42, for a total transaction of $1,483,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,825 shares in the company, valued at $644,936.50. This trade represents a 69.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 138,215 shares of company stock valued at $13,866,186 in the last 90 days. 5.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Performance

PTGX opened at $99.36 on Monday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $99.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -54.90 and a beta of 1.89. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $42.85 and a 52-week high of $107.84.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.50) by $0.55. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 154.88% and a negative return on equity of 17.76%. The firm had revenue of $56.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.70 million. Research analysts forecast that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PTGX. Barclays lifted their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $113.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $80.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $113.69.

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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