Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 816,503 Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. $PTGX

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) by 99.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 816,503 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics were worth $437,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 110.6% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 297 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 138.9% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 540 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth about $62,000. Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth about $87,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 79.5% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. 98.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of PTGX opened at $99.56 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $101.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.05. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.43 and a fifty-two week high of $107.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a PE ratio of -55.01 and a beta of 1.89.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.50) by $0.55. Protagonist Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 154.88% and a negative return on equity of 17.76%. The firm had revenue of $56.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.70 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 3.29 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Friday, May 15th. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Johnson Rice reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. One investment 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Protagonist Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.21.

Insider Transactions at Protagonist Therapeutics

In related news, insider Arturo Md Molina sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 84,115 shares in the company, valued at $8,814,410.85. The trade was a 15.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Asif Ali sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.47, for a total transaction of $184,572.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,223,046.41. This trade represents a 2.88% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 254,345 shares of company stock worth $25,810,506. Insiders own 5.19% of the company’s stock.

Protagonist Therapeutics Company 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.