AlphaCentric Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX)

AlphaCentric Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Free Report) by 71.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,123 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,877 shares during the quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC's holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics were worth $275,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PTGX. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 337,809 shares of the company's stock worth $13,039,000 after buying an additional 16,977 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 28,800 shares of the company's stock worth $1,112,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,637 shares of the company's stock worth $488,000 after acquiring an additional 1,308 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,876,466 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,432,000 after purchasing an additional 142,376 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.63% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Protagonist Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 78,520 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 435,208 shares in the company, valued at $20,437,367.68. This represents a 15.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Suneel Gupta sold 103,437 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.04, for a total transaction of $4,762,239.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 256,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,794,250.96. This trade represents a 28.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 213,316 shares of company stock worth $9,816,345. 5.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $58.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $58.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com lowered Protagonist Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Protagonist Therapeutics from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.00.

Protagonist Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of PTGX stock traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $38.49. The stock had a trading volume of 618,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 552,820. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.47 and a beta of 2.22. The stock's 50 day moving average is $38.45 and its 200 day moving average is $41.85. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.22 and a twelve month high of $48.89.

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.