PTGX Stock: Insider Activity, Filings & Research
Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (PTGX) — Drillr’s hub for PTGX insider activity, SEC filings, earnings signals and AI research. Over the trailing 3 months, PTGX insiders filed 0 open-market buys and 11 sales (SEC Form 4).
PTGX insider trading activity (SEC Form 4)
| Date | Insider | Type | Shares | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 1, 2026 | Waddill William D.director | Option | 9,000 | $11.80 |
| Jun 1, 2026 | Waddill William D.director | Sell | 9,000 | $99.64 |
| May 12, 2026 | PATEL DINESH V PH Ddirector, officer: President and CEO | Sell | 75,000 | $100.12 |
| May 12, 2026 | PATEL DINESH V PH Ddirector, officer: President and CEO | Option | 75,000 | $21.58 |
| May 11, 2026 | Giraudo Bryandirector | Option | 12,000 | $6.98 |
| May 11, 2026 | Giraudo Bryandirector | Sell | 12,000 | $100.07 |
| May 11, 2026 | Giraudo Bryandirector | Sell | 6,000 | $100.00 |
| May 11, 2026 | Giraudo Bryandirector | Option | 24,000 | $6.45 |
| May 11, 2026 | Giraudo Bryandirector | Sell | 36,000 | $100.14 |
| May 11, 2026 | Giraudo Bryandirector | Sell | 5,130 | $100.00 |
| Apr 21, 2026 | Ali Asifofficer: Chief Financial Officer | Sell | 1,750 | $105.47 |
| Mar 27, 2026 | SELICK HAROLD Edirector | Sell | 24,000 | $105.00 |
| Mar 27, 2026 | SELICK HAROLD Edirector | Option | 24,000 | $12.88 |
| Mar 27, 2026 | Ali Asifofficer: Chief Financial Officer | Option | 19,500 | $19.19 |
| Mar 27, 2026 | MOLINA ARTURO MDofficer: Chief Medical Officer | Sell | 15,000 | $104.79 |
Source: PTGX SEC Form 4 filings, latest Jun 1, 2026. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. company profile
Overview
Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company founded in 2006 and headquartered in Newark, California. The company went public in August 2016 and specializes in discovering and developing peptide-based therapeutic drugs targeting hematology, blood disorders, and inflammatory diseases. Protagonist has evolved from a research-focused biotech startup into a company with multiple clinical-stage programs and strategic partnerships, including a significant collaboration with Janssen Biotech.
Business
Protagonist Therapeutics operates in the biotechnology sector, specifically focusing on peptide-based drug discovery and development. The company's core expertise lies in creating small protein molecules called peptides that can be engineered to target specific biological pathways involved in disease processes. The company's pipeline centers around three main therapeutic programs. Rusfertide (PTG-300) is an injectable hepcidin mimetic currently in Phase II clinical trials. Hepcidin is a hormone that regulates iron absorption in the body, and rusfertide mimics this function to treat conditions where patients have too much iron in their blood, such as polycythemia vera (a blood cancer causing overproduction of red blood cells) and hereditary hemochromatosis (a genetic disorder causing iron overload). PN-943 represents the company's oral drug development capabilities, functioning as an alpha-4-beta-7 integrin-specific antagonist peptide in Phase II trials for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This drug works by blocking specific proteins that allow inflammatory cells to enter the gut, thereby reducing inflammation in conditions like Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. PN-235 is an orally delivered interleukin-23 receptor antagonist targeting IBD and other inflammatory conditions. Interleukin-23 is a protein that promotes inflammation, and by blocking its receptor, PN-235 aims to reduce inflammatory responses in various autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The company's revenue primarily comes from its collaboration agreement with Janssen Biotech, which provides milestone payments and research funding. Based on recent financial data, collaboration revenue represents the majority of the company's income, with minimal product sales as all drugs remain in clinical development stages.
Revenue model
Protagonist Therapeutics generates revenue primarily through strategic partnerships and licensing agreements rather than direct product sales, as its therapeutic candidates are still in clinical development phases. The company's main revenue source is its collaboration with Janssen Biotech, which provides upfront payments, milestone payments upon achieving specific development goals, research funding, and potential future royalties on commercialized products. The company's customers are primarily large pharmaceutical companies seeking to license or partner on promising therapeutic candidates. These partnerships allow Protagonist to share development costs and risks while gaining access to larger companies' resources, regulatory expertise, and global commercialization capabilities. Several factors influence Protagonist's financial performance and margins. Positive factors include successful clinical trial results that trigger milestone payments, expansion of existing partnerships, and new collaboration agreements. The company benefits from the growing interest in peptide-based therapeutics, which offer advantages like improved specificity and reduced side effects compared to traditional small molecule drugs. Negative margin pressures come from the high costs and risks inherent in drug development, including expensive clinical trials, potential regulatory setbacks, and the possibility of drug candidates failing at various development stages. The company faces competition from both established pharmaceutical companies and other biotech firms developing treatments for similar conditions. Additionally, the lengthy drug development timeline means the company must maintain sufficient cash reserves to fund operations for extended periods without guaranteed revenue streams. The biotech industry's cyclical nature, influenced by investor sentiment, regulatory changes, and broader market conditions, also affects the company's ability to raise capital and maintain partnerships. Success in this business model requires not only scientific innovation but also effective management of cash burn rates and strategic timing of partnerships and financing activities.
Competitive moat
Protagonist Therapeutics operates in a highly competitive biotechnology landscape where traditional moats are difficult to establish and maintain. The company's primary competitive advantages stem from its specialized expertise in peptide-based drug discovery and its established partnerships, particularly with Janssen Biotech. The company's peptide platform technology represents a moderate competitive advantage, as developing expertise in peptide engineering requires significant scientific knowledge and experience. However, this moat is not insurmountable, as other biotech companies and large pharmaceutical firms are also investing in peptide therapeutics. The company's specific focus on oral peptide delivery systems provides some differentiation, as historically peptides have been challenging to administer orally due to digestive breakdown. Protagonist's clinical-stage pipeline offers temporary competitive positioning, particularly with rusfertide's potential first-mover advantage in treating polycythemia vera with a hepcidin mimetic approach. However, clinical-stage advantages can quickly disappear if competitors advance similar programs or if the company's trials encounter setbacks. The partnership with Janssen provides strategic protection and validation but also creates dependency risk. While this relationship offers resources and credibility, it also means Protagonist has limited control over key development decisions and commercial strategies for partnered programs. The company faces significant competitive threats from established pharmaceutical companies with greater resources, more diversified pipelines, and stronger balance sheets. Large pharma companies can potentially develop competing therapies faster or acquire promising competitors. Additionally, the biotech sector's rapid pace of innovation means that breakthrough therapies from other companies could potentially obsolete Protagonist's programs. Overall, Protagonist's moat is relatively narrow and primarily based on execution excellence and timing rather than structural competitive advantages. Success depends heavily on clinical trial outcomes and the company's ability to maintain and expand strategic partnerships while advancing its pipeline efficiently.
Risks & safety
Protagonist Therapeutics demonstrates a strong financial position with substantial margin of safety, primarily due to its cash-rich balance sheet and low debt levels. • Liquidity and Solvency: The company maintains excellent liquidity with $139.7 million in cash and short-term investments as of Q1 2025, supported by a current ratio of 17.3 and quick ratio of 17.3, indicating minimal solvency risk in the near term. • Debt Profile: Minimal debt burden with debt-to-equity ratio of only 0.016, providing financial flexibility and reduced financial risk during the volatile clinical development phase. • Cash Flow Dynamics: Strong positive free cash flow of $124.8 million in Q1 2025, largely driven by partnership revenues, though this can be volatile based on milestone achievements and collaboration timing. • Valuation Metrics: Trading at reasonable multiples with P/E ratio of 4.6 based on 2024 earnings, though biotech valuations are inherently volatile and dependent on clinical trial outcomes rather than traditional financial metrics. • Graham Net-Net Value: Strong asset coverage with Graham net-net value of 8.6, indicating the stock trades below its liquidation value based on current assets minus all liabilities. • Operational Burn: Quarterly operating losses of approximately $11.7 million in Q1 2025, but this is manageable given the substantial cash position and potential for additional partnership revenues. • Revenue Volatility: Partnership-dependent revenue creates quarterly volatility, with revenue ranging from $4.2 million to $170.6 million across recent quarters, requiring careful cash management during low-revenue periods.
Recent development
Based on the available financial data, Protagonist Therapeutics has undergone significant strategic development over the past few years, transitioning from a cash-burning research company to one generating substantial partnership revenues. The most notable development was the major collaboration agreement with Janssen Biotech, which has provided significant financial resources and validation for the company's peptide platform. The company's revenue profile shows dramatic improvement, with 2024 full-year revenue reaching $434.4 million compared to $60 million in 2023, primarily driven by milestone payments and collaboration revenues. This represents a fundamental shift in the company's financial stability and reduces dependence on external financing for operations. Protagonist has advanced multiple clinical programs simultaneously, with rusfertide (PTG-300) progressing through Phase II trials for polycythemia vera and hereditary hemochromatosis. The company has also expanded its inflammatory disease portfolio with PN-943 and PN-235 both entering Phase II development for inflammatory bowel disease applications. The company's cash position has been strengthened significantly through partnership revenues, allowing for more aggressive clinical development timelines and reduced dilution risk for shareholders. The positive free cash flow generation in recent quarters, including $182.8 million for full-year 2024, demonstrates the company's ability to fund operations through partnership revenues rather than continuous equity raises. Strategic focus has shifted toward advancing multiple clinical programs in parallel while maintaining the Janssen partnership and potentially seeking additional collaborations. The company appears to be positioning itself as a specialized peptide therapeutics platform with the capability to develop drugs across multiple therapeutic areas, leveraging its core competency in peptide engineering and oral delivery systems.
PTGX company profile · for informational purposes only — not investment advice.
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