Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. $PTGX

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,500 shares during the period. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics were worth $1,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. grew its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. now owns 82,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,493,000 after buying an additional 913 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $219,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics in the third quarter worth about $580,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 123.1% in the third quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 90,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,000,000 after acquiring an additional 49,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $202,000. Institutional investors own 98.63% of the company’s stock.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock opened at $81.76 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $86.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.48. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.70 and a 52 week high of $96.54. The company has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a PE ratio of 131.87 and a beta of 2.26.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.62) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.59) by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $4.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.41 million. Protagonist Therapeutics had a return on equity of 6.86% and a net margin of 21.94%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting Protagonist Therapeutics

Here are the key news stories impacting Protagonist Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains strong: several brokerages have raised price targets or reiterated buy/overweight ratings (Johnson Rice $112, Citizens Jmp $102, JPMorgan raised to overweight). That analyst momentum and a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating help cushion downside. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Company fundamentals and outlook remain mixed — recent quarterly results missed revenue and EPS expectations, but PTGX is a clinical‑stage biotech with late‑stage programs (PTG‑100) that could re‑rate the stock on positive clinical/data news. No new clinical readouts were announced today. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Large, clustered insider sales — CEO Dinesh Patel sold multiple tranches (including 4,068 shares on Jan. 27 and larger sales earlier this week), CFO Asif Ali sold 46,203 shares (reducing his stake ~43%), and director/insider Arturo Molina sold >18k shares across days. These sizeable officer-level sales are being viewed negatively and likely pressured the stock today. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: The CFO’s SEC filing shows the large Jan. 27 sale (46,203 shares) and is particularly notable because a near‑half reduction by a finance officer can raise investor concern about insider conviction. Read More.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PTGX shares. Citizens Jmp raised their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $69.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Wedbush raised their price target on Protagonist Therapeutics from $70.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $68.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.77.

Insider Activity at Protagonist Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 4,068 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.19, for a total transaction of $338,416.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,793,070.95. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Arturo Md Molina sold 5,000 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.00, for a total transaction of $410,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 84,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,897,430. This represents a 5.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 165,167 shares of company stock worth $13,732,039 in the last 90 days. 4.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.