Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Has $57.50 Million Stake in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) by 17.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,489,495 shares of the company’s stock after selling 325,201 shares during the period. Protagonist Therapeutics accounts for 0.3% of Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics were worth $57,495,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 20,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $779,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 28,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 54.4% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.63% of the company’s stock.

Protagonist Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock opened at $43.04 on Friday. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.00 and a 1 year high of $60.60. The company has a market capitalization of $2.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.18 and a beta of 2.65. The business has a 50-day moving average of $46.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.70.

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.19) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.50) by $0.31. Protagonist Therapeutics had a net margin of 52.76% and a return on equity of 34.68%. The firm had revenue of $28.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.44 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 5,359 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.18, for a total transaction of $204,606.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 540,260 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,627,126.80. This trade represents a 0.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Arturo Md Molina sold 30,514 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.74, for a total value of $1,700,850.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 83,892 shares in the company, valued at $4,676,140.08. The trade was a 26.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 66,532 shares of company stock valued at $3,665,786. Company insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PTGX shares. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $58.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Protagonist Therapeutics from $43.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Protagonist Therapeutics from $60.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Two investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.44.

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.