Short Interest in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) Decreases By 13.6%

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,290,000 shares, a decrease of 13.6% from the April 30th total of 6,120,000 shares. Approximately 9.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,250,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days.

Protagonist Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PTGX traded up $0.47 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $51.53. The stock had a trading volume of 693,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 891,886. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of 19.37 and a beta of 2.65. Protagonist Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $28.96 and a 52 week high of $60.60. The business's 50-day moving average price is $45.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.81.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.50) by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $28.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.44 million. Protagonist Therapeutics had a return on equity of 34.68% and a net margin of 52.76%. Analysts forecast that Protagonist Therapeutics will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $58.00 price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BTIG Research set a $73.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $60.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $62.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $43.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Protagonist Therapeutics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Protagonist Therapeutics

In related news, insider Arturo Md Molina sold 30,514 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.74, for a total value of $1,700,850.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 83,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,676,140.08. This trade represents a 26.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director William D. Waddill sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.25, for a total value of $217,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,130 shares in the company, valued at $712,302.50. This represents a 23.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 61,173 shares of company stock valued at $3,461,180 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 4.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 106.9% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 21,834 shares of the company's stock worth $1,056,000 after acquiring an additional 11,279 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the first quarter worth approximately $919,000. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 2.2% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 435,097 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,041,000 after purchasing an additional 9,540 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 54.2% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 897,699 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,413,000 after purchasing an additional 315,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,958,000. 98.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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