Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 4,341 Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) by 30.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,028 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,341 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics were worth $347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics during the first quarter worth $35,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $202,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 74.2% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 9,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 3,870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 67.7% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 4,517 shares during the period. 98.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on PTGX shares. JMP Securities dropped their price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Protagonist Therapeutics from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Protagonist Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $47.33.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Up 3.0 %

NASDAQ PTGX opened at $47.02 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.21. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.72 and a 12-month high of $47.15. The firm has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27 and a beta of 2.17.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.50) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.50). The company had revenue of $4.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.00 million. Equities analysts expect that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Asif Ali sold 14,203 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.49, for a total value of $631,891.47. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,555,370.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director William D. Waddill sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $360,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $540,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Asif Ali sold 14,203 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.49, for a total transaction of $631,891.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,555,370.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,203 shares of company stock valued at $1,311,891 over the last ninety days. 5.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Protagonist Therapeutics

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.