Pacer Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. $PTGX

Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 4,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $518,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 140.7% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,649,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $231,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,549,160 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 66.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,171,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,992,000 after buying an additional 1,262,977 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 27.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,413,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $472,832,000 after buying an additional 1,156,461 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $72,114,000. Finally, Commodore Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $59,415,000. 98.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $1,061,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 7,825 shares in the company, valued at $922,880.50. This trade represents a 53.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 27,000 shares of company stock worth $2,927,340. Company insiders own 5.19% of the company’s stock.

Protagonist Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PTGX opened at $148.29 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $126.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.30. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.49 and a fifty-two week high of $151.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 143.97 and a beta of 1.78.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.02. Protagonist Therapeutics had a return on equity of 12.03% and a net margin of 29.40%.The company had revenue of $213.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $212.03 million. Protagonist Therapeutics’s revenue was up 3746.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 3.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PTGX shares. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $118.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group raised shares of Protagonist Therapeutics to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $130.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $151.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.86.

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.