Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Stock Price Crosses Below 50 Day Moving Average of $28.56

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) passed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $28.56 and traded as low as $25.35. Protagonist Therapeutics shares last traded at $25.57, with a volume of 517,565 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $38.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Protagonist Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Protagonist Therapeutics currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.00.

Protagonist Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of -16.93 and a beta of 2.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.85.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $60.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.00 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Protagonist Therapeutics

In related news, Director William D. Waddill sold 12,975 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.34, for a total transaction of $406,636.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,000 shares in the company, valued at $376,080. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Protagonist Therapeutics news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total value of $948,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 574,590 shares in the company, valued at $18,168,535.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William D. Waddill sold 12,975 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.34, for a total value of $406,636.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $376,080. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 82,223 shares of company stock worth $2,522,342. 5.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 45,289 shares of the company's stock worth $1,038,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 96.4% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,473 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 6.1% during the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 12,954 shares of the company's stock valued at $216,000 after buying an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 2.5% during the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 34,895 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,010,000 after buying an additional 849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 5.9% during the third quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 16,303 shares of the company's stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 910 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.63% of the company's stock.

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.