Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 310,804 Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) by 3,099.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 320,832 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 310,804 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.54% of Protagonist Therapeutics worth $14,437,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PTGX. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,107,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 127.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 81,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,782,000 after acquiring an additional 45,674 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP boosted its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 426.9% during the 2nd quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 36,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,275,000 after acquiring an additional 29,810 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 204,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,079,000 after acquiring an additional 17,065 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth $2,250,000. 98.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of PTGX stock opened at $38.96 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.16. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.43 and a 52 week high of $48.89. The stock has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.65 and a beta of 2.18.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on PTGX. Truist Financial started coverage on Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, December 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $58.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Protagonist Therapeutics news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 78,520 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total value of $3,687,299.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 435,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,437,367.68. The trade was a 15.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Suneel Gupta sold 103,437 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.04, for a total value of $4,762,239.48. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 256,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,794,250.96. This 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 209,863 shares of company stock worth $9,689,847. Corporate insiders own 5.40% 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.