Insider Selling: Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) CFO Sells 1,750 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• CFO Asif Ali sold 1,750 shares at an average price of $105.47 (totaling $184,572.50) on April 20 to cover tax withholding from vested equity, leaving him with 59,003 shares (a 2.88% reduction).
• Protagonist missed quarterly expectations—reported EPS of -$0.69 vs. consensus -$0.53 and revenue of $7.44M vs. $14.92M—but the stock is trading near its 1‑year high (~$105.89) with a market cap of about $6.76B.
• Institutional investors own 98.63% of the company with large increases from Janus, Wellington and Vanguard, and analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with a $108.15 price target.

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) CFO Asif Ali sold 1,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.47, for a total value of $184,572.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,223,046.41. This represents a 2.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Asif Ali also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, March 26th, Asif Ali sold 24,765 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.24, for a total value of $2,581,503.60.
• On Tuesday, January 27th, Asif Ali sold 46,203 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.13, for a total value of $3,840,855.39.

Protagonist Therapeutics Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ PTGX traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $105.89. 494,943 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 798,984. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.28 and a 1 year high of $107.84. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.21. The stock has a market cap of $6.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -51.65 and a beta of 2.12.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.69) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.53) by ($0.16). Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 19.89% and a negative net margin of 282.83%.The company had revenue of $7.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.92 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PTGX. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 140.7% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,649,981 shares of the company's stock valued at $231,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,549,160 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 66.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,171,423 shares of the company's stock valued at $276,992,000 after purchasing an additional 1,262,977 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 27.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,413,690 shares of the company's stock valued at $472,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,156,461 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $72,114,000. Finally, Commodore Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $59,415,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PTGX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Protagonist Therapeutics from $65.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Leerink Partners raised their price target on Protagonist Therapeutics from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $113.00 to $119.00 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 issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.

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