Asif Ali Sells 1,750 Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Stock

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) CFO Asif Ali sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.47, for a total transaction of $184,572.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,223,046.41. The trade was a 2.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Asif Ali also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, March 26th, Asif Ali sold 24,765 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.24, for a total transaction of $2,581,503.60.
• On Tuesday, January 27th, Asif Ali sold 46,203 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.13, for a total transaction of $3,840,855.39.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of PTGX stock opened at $105.55 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $6.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -51.49 and a beta of 2.12. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $41.28 and a 52 week high of $107.84. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.63.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.69) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $7.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 million. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 19.89% and a negative net margin of 282.83%. On average, analysts anticipate that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 1.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on PTGX shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $80.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citizens Jmp upped their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Johnson Rice restated a “buy” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $121.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $108.15.

Institutional Trading of Protagonist Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 110.6% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 297 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 13,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,170,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 8,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $751,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. 98.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Protagonist Therapeutics Company Profile

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc (NASDAQ: PTGX) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel, orally administered peptide-based therapies for immune-mediated and other serious diseases. The company leverages its proprietary Peptide 2.0 platform to design peptides that target G protein–coupled receptors and cytokine receptors, with the goal of combining the potency of biologics with the convenience of oral administration. Protagonist’s approach aims to address unmet medical needs in areas where injectable therapies have been the standard of care.

Among its lead programs is PTG-100, an oral α4β7 integrin antagonist intended to block leukocyte migration to the gut in ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.