AQR Capital Management LLC Has $5.79 Million Stock Position in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX)

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Free Report) by 9.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 150,097 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 12,926 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.25% of Protagonist Therapeutics worth $5,794,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PTGX. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 223.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 126,995 shares of the company's stock worth $5,714,000 after purchasing an additional 87,755 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 127.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 81,591 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,782,000 after purchasing an additional 45,674 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 3,099.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 320,832 shares of the company's stock worth $14,437,000 after buying an additional 310,804 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,016,000. 98.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Protagonist Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 5,359 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.18, for a total value of $204,606.62. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 540,260 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,627,126.80. This trade represents a 0.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Asif Ali sold 24,903 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.73, for a total value of $1,462,553.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,689,477.33. This represents a 28.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,532 shares of company stock worth $3,665,786 over the last 90 days. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on PTGX. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $58.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Protagonist Therapeutics from $43.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $62.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Friday, March 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $65.44.

Protagonist Therapeutics Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ PTGX traded down $0.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $43.04. The company had a trading volume of 671,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 871,890. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $46.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.70. The stock has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a PE ratio of 16.18 and a beta of 2.65. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.00 and a 1-year high of $60.60.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.50) by $0.31. The company had revenue of $28.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.44 million. Protagonist Therapeutics had a return on equity of 34.68% and a net margin of 52.76%. On average, research analysts expect that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Protagonist Therapeutics Profile

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.