Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.16 EPS

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported ($0.69) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by ($0.16), Zacks reports. Protagonist Therapeutics had a net margin of 21.94% and a return on equity of 6.86%.

Protagonist Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:PTGX traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $87.10. The company had a trading volume of 285,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 735,990. The firm has a market cap of $5.45 billion, a PE ratio of 140.49 and a beta of 2.26. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $84.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.51. Protagonist Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $34.81 and a 1-year high of $96.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Protagonist Therapeutics news, insider Arturo Md Molina sold 13,151 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.42, for a total value of $1,083,905.42. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 84,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,932,758.30. This trade represents a 13.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lewis T. Williams sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director owned 7,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,936.50. This represents a 69.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 203,167 shares of company stock valued at $16,889,199. 4.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 2,211.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 5,108 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $262,000. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at $245,000. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 38.1% during the 4th quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 770 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth $233,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on PTGX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $68.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $80.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $88.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Protagonist Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.00.

About Protagonist Therapeutics

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.