BNP Paribas Financial Markets Acquires 84,420 Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. $PTGX

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) by 632.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 97,764 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 84,420 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics were worth $8,539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 27.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,413,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $472,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,156,461 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $72,114,000. Commodore Capital LP acquired a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $59,415,000. UBS Group AG raised its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 46.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,770,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,934,000 after purchasing an additional 874,013 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 83.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,908,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,778,000 after purchasing an additional 870,708 shares in the last quarter. 98.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Harold E. Selick sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $2,520,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 60,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,388,725. This represents a 28.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bryan Giraudo sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $600,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 31,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,182,500. The trade was a 15.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 263,345 shares of company stock worth $26,707,266 in the last three months. 5.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Leerink Partners upped their price objective on Protagonist Therapeutics from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Barclays upped their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $113.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Protagonist Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.21.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of PTGX opened at $98.03 on Tuesday. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.38 and a 12-month high of $107.84. The business’s fifty day moving average is $101.25 and its 200 day moving average is $92.64. The stock has a market cap of $6.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -54.16 and a beta of 1.86.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.50) by $0.55. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 17.76% and a negative net margin of 154.88%.The company had revenue of $56.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.70 million. On average, analysts expect that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current year.

Protagonist Therapeutics Profile

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.