The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Purchases Shares of 108,555 Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. $PTGX

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired 108,555 Protagonist Therapeutics shares worth approximately $13.3 million, joining other institutions that collectively own 98.63% of PTGX.
• Protagonist reported quarterly EPS of $2.29 and revenue of $213.47 million, with revenue surging 3,746.8% year over year. The stock opened at $144.33, near its 12-month high of $160.81.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $140.53 price target, although insiders sold 118,000 shares worth $16.9 million over the past 90 days.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 108,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,307,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.17% of Protagonist Therapeutics at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 110.6% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 297 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Greenline Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors own 98.63% of the company's stock.

Protagonist Therapeutics Trading Down 3.5%

NASDAQ PTGX opened at $144.33 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $138.51 and a 200 day moving average of $112.49. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.50 and a twelve month high of $160.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 140.13 and a beta of 1.78.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.02. Protagonist Therapeutics had a net margin of 29.40% and a return on equity of 12.03%. The company had revenue of $213.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.03 million. The company's revenue was up 3746.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William D. Waddill sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.94, for a total transaction of $1,061,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $922,880.50. The trade was a 53.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 34,239 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.52, for a total transaction of $5,085,176.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 523,478 shares of the company's stock, valued at $77,746,952.56. This trade represents a 6.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 sold 118,000 shares of company stock worth $16,921,379 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 5.19% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PTGX. Johnson Rice set a $165.00 price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research cut shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Protagonist Therapeutics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $110.00 to $186.00 in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Protagonist Therapeutics to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $140.53.

Protagonist Therapeutics 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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