Protagonist Therapeutics (PTGX) Downgraded by Zacks Investment Research

Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Friday.

According to Zacks, “Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with a proprietary technology platform focused on discovering and developing peptide-based new chemical entities to address significant unmet medical needs. The Company’s initial lead product candidates consists of PTG-100 and PTG-200, which have the potential to transform the existing treatment paradigm for inflammatory bowel disease, a GI disease consisting primarily of ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease; PTG-300, an injectable hepcidin mimetic. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. is based in Milpitas, United States. “

Get Protagonist Therapeutics alerts:

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on PTGX. Nomura started coverage on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, December 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $13.00 target price for the company. ValuEngine lowered Protagonist Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.65.

Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock opened at $7.42 on Friday. Protagonist Therapeutics has a one year low of $5.49 and a one year high of $23.97.

In other Protagonist Therapeutics news, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 10,909 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.74, for a total value of $84,435.66. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 367,396 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,843,645.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider David Y. Liu sold 3,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.74, for a total value of $29,574.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,434.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 13.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 75.5% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 19,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 8,450 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 2,262.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,217 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 20,319 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 34,624 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 5,084 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in Protagonist Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $304,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 26.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 63,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 13,303 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.42% of the company’s stock.

About Protagonist Therapeutics

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering and developing peptide-based drugs to address various unmet medical needs. The company's lead product candidates include PTG-100, an oral alpha-4-beta-7 integrin- antagonist that is in Phase II b clinical trial for the treatment of ulcerative colitis, as well as for treating chronic pouchitis, a gastrointestinal (GI) condition that occurs in post-surgical inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients; PTG-200, an oral interleukin-23 receptor antagonist, which is in Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of IBD; and PTG-300, an injectable hepcidin mimetic, which has completed Phase I study for use in the treatment of beta-thalassemia, as well as for treating other diseases, such as hereditary hemochromatosis, polycythemia vera, siderophilic infections, and liver fibrosis.

See Also: What are trading strategies for the 52-week high/low?

Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Protagonist Therapeutics (PTGX)

For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com