Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. $PTGX Holdings Boosted by HighVista Strategies LLC

HighVista Strategies LLC increased its position in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) by 110.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 121,682 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 63,831 shares during the quarter. Protagonist Therapeutics accounts for 2.0% of HighVista Strategies LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. HighVista Strategies LLC owned about 0.19% of Protagonist Therapeutics worth $8,083,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PTGX. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $72,114,000. Commodore Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $59,415,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 83.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,908,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $126,778,000 after purchasing an additional 870,708 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 218.0% in the second quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,092,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,369,000 after purchasing an additional 748,758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BVF Inc. IL boosted its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 24.7% during the second quarter. BVF Inc. IL now owns 3,211,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $177,474,000 after buying an additional 636,026 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.63% of the company’s stock.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Down 3.2%

NASDAQ:PTGX opened at $92.36 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $5.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.05 and a beta of 2.23. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $85.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.79. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.60 and a twelve month high of $98.32.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PTGX shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Citigroup upped their price objective 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. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Citizens Jmp raised their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price target on Protagonist Therapeutics from $80.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.08.

Insider Activity at Protagonist Therapeutics

In related news, CFO Asif Ali sold 46,203 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.13, for a total value 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 $5,014,401.60. This represents a 43.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 34,438 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.48, for a total value of $2,840,446.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 580,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,880,052.40. The trade was a 5.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 203,167 shares of company stock valued at $16,889,199 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 4.90% of the company’s stock.

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.