Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Invests $2.02 Million in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 52,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,016,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.09% of Protagonist Therapeutics at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PTGX. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics by 127.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 81,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,782,000 after purchasing an additional 45,674 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at about $1,107,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $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 worth $25,448,000 after acquiring an additional 39,850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 310,804 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.63% of the company’s stock.

Protagonist Therapeutics Trading Down 3.2 %

NASDAQ:PTGX opened at $36.88 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $40.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.86 and a beta of 2.23. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.21 and a 1-year high of $48.89.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PTGX shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Cowen raised Protagonist Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Friday, December 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, December 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Protagonist Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.78.

Insider Activity at Protagonist Therapeutics

In other news, insider Suneel Gupta sold 103,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.04, for a total transaction of $4,762,239.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 256,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,794,250.96. This trade represents a 28.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 78,520 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total value of $3,687,299.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 435,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,437,367.68. The trade was a 15.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 209,863 shares of company stock valued at $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.