Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Reduces Position in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. $PTGX

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) by 40.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 12,600 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,400 shares during the quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics were worth $1,100,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 6,196,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $411,601,000 after purchasing an additional 24,000 shares during the last quarter. Mangrove Partners IM LLC grew its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mangrove Partners IM LLC now owns 478,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,781,000 after purchasing an additional 83,030 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 2,043.8% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 41,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,740,000 after purchasing an additional 39,322 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 123.1% during the 3rd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 90,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,000,000 after purchasing an additional 49,833 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 228,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,156,000 after purchasing an additional 16,865 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.63% of the company’s stock.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PTGX opened at $98.37 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $98.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.91. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.28 and a 1 year high of $107.84. The company has a market capitalization of $6.33 billion, a PE ratio of -47.99 and a beta of 1.89.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.69) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.53) by ($0.16). Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 19.89% and a negative net margin of 282.83%.The firm had revenue of $7.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 1.02 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $65.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $80.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Protagonist Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $108.15.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Arturo Md Molina sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.79, for a total transaction of $1,571,850.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 84,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,814,410.85. This represents a 15.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 54,641 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total transaction of $5,518,741.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 524,938 shares in the company, valued at $53,018,738. This trade represents a 9.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 158,215 shares of company stock valued at $15,539,786 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 4.90% of the company’s stock.

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.