Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. $PTGX Position Raised by HighVista Strategies LLC

HighVista Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) by 110.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 121,682 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 63,831 shares during the period. Protagonist Therapeutics comprises 2.0% of HighVista Strategies LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. HighVista Strategies LLC’s holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics were worth $8,083,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PTGX. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 18.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 813,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,990,000 after buying an additional 128,171 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 305,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,289,000 after purchasing an additional 25,065 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,641,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 3.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 388,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,449,000 after acquiring an additional 11,219 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 74.3% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 30,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 12,871 shares during the last quarter. 98.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. HC Wainwright raised their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $80.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $95.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Protagonist Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Asif Ali sold 46,203 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.13, for a total transaction of $3,840,855.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 60,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,014,401.60. The trade was a 43.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Lewis T. Williams sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.42, for a total transaction of $1,483,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,825 shares in the company, valued at $644,936.50. This trade represents a 69.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 203,167 shares of company stock valued at $16,889,199. 4.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Down 3.2%

Protagonist Therapeutics stock opened at $92.36 on Monday. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.60 and a twelve month high of $98.32. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $85.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.79. The company has a market cap of $5.89 billion, a PE ratio of -45.05 and a beta of 2.23.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.69) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $7.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.92 million. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 19.89% and a negative net margin of 282.83%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.