Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,040,000 shares, a drop of 34.6% from the June 15th total of 3,120,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 860,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Performance

PTGX stock traded up $0.49 during trading on Friday, reaching $36.28. 14,977 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 791,944. The company has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 2.13. Protagonist Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $13.72 and a 52-week high of $36.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $31.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.48.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $3.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.75. The company had revenue of $254.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $300.00 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Protagonist Therapeutics will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Asif Ali sold 1,234 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.11, for a total transaction of $30,985.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $933,162.93. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Protagonist Therapeutics news, CFO Asif Ali sold 1,234 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.11, for a total value of $30,985.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,163 shares in the company, valued at $933,162.93. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director William D. Waddill sold 8,000 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $280,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,000 shares in the company, valued at $420,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 44,234 shares of company stock worth $1,542,636 in the last ninety days. 5.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Protagonist Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 4.6% during the first quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 188,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,460,000 after acquiring an additional 8,247 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP acquired a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $464,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,893,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 74.2% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 9,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 3,870 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PTGX has been the topic of several analyst reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Monday, June 17th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Friday, June 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Protagonist Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.00.

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.