Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Shares Down 5.1% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Protagonist Therapeutics' shares fell by 5.1% during trading, closing at $63.99, with a trading volume significantly down from the average.
• Analysts have generally positive outlooks on the company's stock, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and a price target of $68.36.
• The company reported a loss of $0.55 earnings per share last quarter, missing expectations, and had revenue of $5.55 million against forecasts of $8.32 million.

Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) were down 5.1% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $64.90 and last traded at $63.99. Approximately 429,431 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 942,601 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.42.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays assumed coverage on Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, September 12th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 8th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Protagonist Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Protagonist Therapeutics has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.36.

Protagonist Therapeutics Price Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.06. The company has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a PE ratio of 93.06 and a beta of 2.22.

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 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 company had revenue of $5.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.32 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Protagonist Therapeutics

In other Protagonist Therapeutics news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 10,415 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.78, for a total value of $570,533.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 520,603 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,518,632.34. This trade represents a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William D. Waddill sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.25, for a total transaction of $257,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,130 shares of the company's stock, valued at $329,602.50. The trade was a 43.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 70,859 shares of company stock valued at $3,944,577. 4.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 171.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 504 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 201.5% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 609 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 153.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 728 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 141.7% during the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,211 shares of the company's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.63% of the company's stock.

Protagonist Therapeutics Company 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.

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