Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 45,674 Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Free Report) by 127.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,591 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 45,674 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Protagonist Therapeutics worth $3,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PTGX. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 749.2% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 552 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 910.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the company's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $69,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,130 shares of the company's stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.63% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Protagonist Therapeutics news, insider Suneel Gupta sold 103,437 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.04, for a total value of $4,762,239.48. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 256,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,794,250.96. This represents a 28.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 78,520 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total transaction of $3,687,299.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 435,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,437,367.68. This trade represents a 15.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 209,863 shares of company stock valued at $9,689,847 over the last three months. Insiders own 5.40% of the company's stock.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Performance

Protagonist Therapeutics stock traded down $1.30 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $39.30. 249,309 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 746,774. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $43.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.09. The firm has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77 and a beta of 2.18. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.43 and a 52 week high of $48.89.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PTGX. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Friday, December 6th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Cowen raised shares of Protagonist Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Friday, December 6th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.78.

Protagonist Therapeutics Profile

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, develops peptide-based drugs for hematology and blood disorders, and inflammatory and immunomodulatory diseases. It is developing Rusfertide (PTG-300), an injectable hepcidin mimetic that completed phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of polycythemia vera and other blood disorders; and JNJ-2113, an orally delivered investigational drug to block biological pathways that completed phase 2b clinical trials for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis; and PN-943, an orally delivered, gut-restricted alpha 4 beta 7 specific integrin antagonist completed a phase 2 clinical trials in patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis.