William Waddill Sells 12,000 Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Stock

Key Points

• Director William Waddill sold 12,000 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock at an average price of $81.62, reducing their ownership by 70.05%.
• Protagonist Therapeutics shares are currently trading at $76.94, down 2.8%, with a market cap of $4.79 billion.
• The company reported an EPS of ($0.55) in its last quarter, missing estimates, with revenue of $5.55 million compared to consensus estimates of $8.32 million.

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) Director William Waddill sold 12,000 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.62, for a total transaction of $979,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,130 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $418,710.60. The trade was a 70.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ PTGX traded down $2.23 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $76.94. 1,885,324 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,007,565. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $60.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.31. The stock has a market cap of $4.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 109.92 and a beta of 2.20. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $33.31 and a one year high of $93.25.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.55) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.53) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $5.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.32 million. Protagonist Therapeutics had a net margin of 24.88% and a return on equity of 8.12%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Friday, September 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 2.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 347,095 shares of the company's stock worth $16,786,000 after acquiring an additional 9,286 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 8,458 shares of the company's stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC purchased a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at about $362,000. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 106.9% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 21,834 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,056,000 after purchasing an additional 11,279 shares during the period. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE purchased a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,933,000. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.