Kennedy Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. $PTGX

Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 221,444 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,007 shares during the quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics were worth $19,341,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. purchased a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $873,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 187,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,389,000 after purchasing an additional 16,236 shares in the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC raised its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 147.8% in the fourth quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 9,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $788,000 after purchasing an additional 5,445 shares in the last quarter. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,826,000. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,734,000. 98.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Performance

PTGX stock opened at $109.78 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.06 billion, a PE ratio of -60.65 and a beta of 1.85. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $49.38 and a one year high of $111.78. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $101.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.22.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.50) by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $56.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.70 million. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 154.88% and a negative return on equity of 17.76%. On average, research analysts predict that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 75,000 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.12, for a total value of $7,509,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 523,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,410,617.36. The trade was a 12.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Asif Ali sold 24,765 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.24, for a total transaction of $2,581,503.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 60,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,332,892.72. The trade was a 28.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 272,345 shares of company stock valued at $27,676,386. Insiders own 5.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PTGX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.21.

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.