Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 1,156,461 Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. $PTGX

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 27.2% in Q4, buying 1,156,461 shares to hold 5,413,690 shares (about 8.66% of the company, ~$472.8M).
• Earnings miss: the company reported a Q loss of ($0.69) per share versus ($0.53) expected and revenue of $7.44M versus $14.92M expected, resulting in a deeply negative net margin (-282.83%).
• Institutional ownership is very high (98.63%) with multiple major funds increasing positions, and analysts still show a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $108.15 despite mixed ratings.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Free Report) by 27.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,413,690 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,156,461 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 8.66% of Protagonist Therapeutics worth $472,832,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 0.4% in 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 last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 18.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,207,543 shares of the company's stock worth $177,281,000 after acquiring an additional 500,924 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 870,708 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 51.9% in the third quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 1,438,247 shares of the company's stock worth $95,543,000 after purchasing an additional 491,363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 218.0% in the 2nd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,092,262 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,369,000 after purchasing an additional 748,758 shares during the period. 98.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:PTGX opened at $99.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.38 billion, a PE ratio of -48.40 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $98.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.07. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.28 and a twelve month high of $107.84.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $7.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.92 million. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 282.83% and a negative return on equity of 19.89%. Analysts anticipate that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Asif Ali sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.47, for a total transaction of $184,572.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,223,046.41. This represents a 2.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Arturo Md Molina sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.79, for a total value of $1,571,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 84,115 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,814,410.85. This represents a 15.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 158,215 shares of company stock valued at $15,539,786. 4.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PTGX shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Protagonist Therapeutics from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Leerink Partners boosted their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $113.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $65.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $108.15.

About Protagonist Therapeutics

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.