Inspire Investing LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX)

Inspire Investing LLC cut its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) by 71.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,555 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,959 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics were worth $407,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 127.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 81,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,782,000 after buying an additional 45,674 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics in the third quarter worth approximately $1,107,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $2,250,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 7.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 565,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,448,000 after purchasing an additional 39,850 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 3,099.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 320,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,437,000 after purchasing an additional 310,804 shares during the last quarter. 98.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, December 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, December 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $58.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Protagonist Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.78.

Protagonist Therapeutics Trading Down 0.3 %

Protagonist Therapeutics stock opened at $37.69 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 2.23. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.73. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.21 and a twelve month high of $48.89.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.54) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.59) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.50 million. Protagonist Therapeutics had a return on equity of 34.68% and a net margin of 52.76%. Sell-side analysts predict that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Protagonist Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 78,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $20,437,367.68. This trade represents a 15.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Arturo Md Molina sold 1,906 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.98, for a total value of $78,107.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,903,275.12. This trade represents a 3.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 209,863 shares of company stock valued at $9,689,847 over the last 90 days. 5.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.