Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 310,804 Shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) by 3,099.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 320,832 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 310,804 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics were worth $14,437,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new position in Protagonist Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at $1,107,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Protagonist Therapeutics by 127.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 81,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,782,000 after purchasing an additional 45,674 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP raised its position in Protagonist Therapeutics by 426.9% in the 2nd quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 36,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,275,000 after purchasing an additional 29,810 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics by 9.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 204,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,079,000 after buying an additional 17,065 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Protagonist Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,250,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.63% of the company’s stock.

Protagonist Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PTGX opened at $38.96 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.16. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $21.43 and a one year high of $48.89. The firm has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.65 and a beta of 2.18.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial began coverage on Protagonist Therapeutics in a report on Monday, September 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, December 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Protagonist Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, December 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Protagonist Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Protagonist Therapeutics news, insider Suneel Gupta sold 103,437 shares of Protagonist Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.04, for a total value of $4,762,239.48. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 256,174 shares in the company, valued at $11,794,250.96. The trade was a 28.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Dinesh V. Ph D. Patel sold 78,520 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.96, for a total transaction of $3,687,299.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 435,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,437,367.68. The trade was a 15.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 209,863 shares of company stock valued at $9,689,847 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

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.