Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases Shares of 26,100 Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. $PTGX

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 26,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,751,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 110.6% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of 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 holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 8,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 0.4% during the third quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC now owns 61,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,109,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. 98.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $135.00 price target for the company. Leerink Partners raised their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William D. Waddill sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.94, for a total value of $1,061,460.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $922,880.50. This represents a 53.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Bryan Giraudo sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $600,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 31,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,182,500. The trade was a 15.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 162,880 shares of company stock valued at $16,539,792 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 5.19% of the company’s stock.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PTGX opened at $121.88 on Monday. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.38 and a 12 month high of $126.25. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $104.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.21. The company has a market cap of $7.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -67.34 and a beta of 1.86.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.50) by $0.55. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 17.76% and a negative net margin of 154.88%.The company had revenue of $56.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.70 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current year.

Protagonist Therapeutics 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.