Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Stock Price Down 8.7% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Protagonist Therapeutics' stock price dropped 8.7% to $55.29, significantly lower than its previous close of $60.53, with trading volume at just 299,371 shares, down 68% from the average.
• Several analysts have revised their ratings, with Wall Street Zen upgrading the stock to "hold" and JMP Securities increasing its price target from $67.00 to $69.00.
• Protagonist Therapeutics reported a quarterly earnings miss, with an EPS of ($0.55), falling short of the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by $0.02, and revenue of $5.55 million compared to expected $8.32 million.

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) traded down 8.7% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $55.40 and last traded at $55.29. 299,371 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 929,011 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.53.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, August 7th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 8th. Finally, Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Friday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.73.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Performance

The stock's fifty day moving average is $55.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.67. The firm has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.09 and a beta of 2.22.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $5.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.32 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Protagonist Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 22,065 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.05, for a total transaction of $1,214,678.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 548,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,197,016.90. This trade represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director William D. Waddill sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.25, for a total transaction of $237,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,130 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $540,952.50. This trade represents a 30.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 66,859 shares of company stock valued at $3,687,577 in the last quarter. 4.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. RTW Investments LP boosted its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 5,498,545 shares of the company's stock worth $212,244,000 after buying an additional 72,433 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,277,218 shares of the company's stock worth $206,846,000 after buying an additional 57,181 shares during the period. BVF Inc. IL boosted its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 24.7% in the second quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 3,211,041 shares of the company's stock worth $177,474,000 after buying an additional 636,026 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 18.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,207,543 shares of the company's stock worth $177,281,000 after buying an additional 500,924 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,444,230 shares of the company's stock worth $79,833,000 after buying an additional 20,671 shares during the period. 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.