Voya Investment Management LLC Has $2.89 Million Stake in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. $PTGX

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC has reduced its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 27.8%, now owning 59,678 shares valued at approximately $2.89 million.
• Several institutional investors, including GF Fund Management and Hsbc Holdings, have increased their positions in Protagonist Therapeutics, indicating strong interest with 98.63% of the stock held by institutional investors.
• Protagonist Therapeutics missed earnings expectations for the last quarter, reporting an EPS of ($0.55) compared to analysts' estimates of ($0.53), along with revenue of $5.55 million against expectations of $8.32 million.

Voya Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Free Report) by 27.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,678 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,949 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned about 0.10% of Protagonist Therapeutics worth $2,886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 347,095 shares of the company's stock worth $16,786,000 after buying an additional 9,286 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 4.1% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 8,458 shares of the company's stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC bought a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $362,000. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 106.9% during the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 21,834 shares of the company's stock worth $1,056,000 after acquiring an additional 11,279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE bought a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $1,933,000. 98.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Protagonist Therapeutics

In related news, Director William D. Waddill sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.25, for a total value of $237,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 9,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $540,952.50. The trade was a 30.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 10,415 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.78, for a total transaction of $570,533.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 520,603 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,518,632.34. This represents a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 66,859 shares of company stock valued at $3,687,577. 4.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Protagonist Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 8th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Protagonist Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Barclays initiated coverage on Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Protagonist Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $68.08.

Protagonist Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ PTGX traded up $0.10 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $64.61. 182,262 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 941,944. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.31 and a fifty-two week high of $64.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.19 and a beta of 2.22. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $56.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.81.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.55) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.53) by ($0.02). Protagonist Therapeutics had a return on equity of 8.12% and a net margin of 24.88%.The firm had revenue of $5.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.32 million. On average, analysts forecast that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

About Protagonist Therapeutics

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.