Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) Trading Down 3.7% Following Insider Selling

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) shares traded down 3.7% during trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $53.00 and last traded at $52.77. 218,633 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 735,490 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.78.

Specifically, CFO Asif Ali sold 24,903 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.73, for a total transaction of $1,462,553.19. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,821 shares in the company, valued at $3,689,477.33. This trade represents a 28.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Arturo Md Molina sold 30,514 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.74, for a total transaction of $1,700,850.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 83,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,676,140.08. The trade was a 26.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

PTGX has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $60.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Protagonist Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $73.00 target price on Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.56.

Protagonist Therapeutics Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $40.89 and a 200-day moving average of $42.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.79 and a beta of 2.34.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 21st. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $2.07. Protagonist Therapeutics had a net margin of 52.76% and a return on equity of 34.68%. The company had revenue of $170.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $56.65 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 174.6% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 21,349 shares of the company's stock worth $824,000 after purchasing an additional 13,575 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank purchased a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth about $13,162,000. Cache Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth about $392,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 24.8% during the fourth quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 582,327 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,478,000 after buying an additional 115,809 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.63% of the company's stock.

Protagonist Therapeutics Company 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.