Protagonist 2025 Q1 Earnings Loss Surpasses Expectations as Net Income Plummets 105.6%

Protagonist Therapeutics (PTGX) reported its fiscal 2025 Q1 earnings on May 06th, 2025. The company posted a net loss of $11.7 million, or $0.19 per share, beating Wall Street expectations of a $0.50 per share loss. Despite this, revenue fell to $28.3 million due to the absence of last year's milestone payment from the Takeda Collaboration Agreement. Protagonist anticipates completing NDA filings for rusfertide and icotrokinra by year-end, with a strong cash position of $697.9 million providing operational runway through 2028.

Revenue

Protagonist's revenue for Q1 2025 decreased dramatically to $28.32 million, marking an 88.9% decline from the previous year's figure of $254.95 million. This drop was primarily due to the absence of significant milestone payments from the prior Takeda Collaboration Agreement. The entire revenue this quarter stemmed from license and collaboration activities, including proportional recognition of a $25 million milestone related to the VERIFY clinical study report and $5.5 million for development services under existing agreements.

Earnings/Net Income

Protagonist reported a net loss of $11.65 million for Q1 2025, translating to a loss of $0.19 per share, a stark contrast to the net income of $207.34 million, or $3.41 per share, in Q1 2024. This represents a 105.6% negative change in net income year-over-year. The significant decline in EPS reflects challenging financial performance this quarter.

Price Action

The stock price of Protagonist has dropped 4.22% during the latest trading day, has dropped 7.91% during the most recent full trading week, and has tumbled 9.66% month-to-date.

Post-Earnings Price Action Review

Historically, the strategy of acquiring Protagonist (PTGX) shares after a quarter of revenue growth and holding for 30 days yielded moderate returns, though it consistently underperformed the market benchmark. Over the past five years, this approach produced a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.63%, while experiencing a maximum drawdown of -10.39%. The strategy's Sharpe ratio stood at 0.32, signaling a degree of risk with limited excess returns compared to broader market performance. Despite some success in certain quarters, the overall results suggest that this tactic carries inherent risks, and investors should consider broader market trends and individual stock performance nuances when evaluating potential gains.

CEO Commentary

“Protagonist is off to a very strong 2025 with multiple transformational events in the first quarter for our two late-stage partnered assets, rusfertide and icotrokinra which are progressing to NDA filings by year end,” said Dinesh V. Patel, Ph.D., President and CEO. He highlighted the positive results from the icotrokinra Phase 2b ANTHEM study in ulcerative colitis and emphasized the company’s focus on advancing pre-clinical candidates such as PN-881. Patel expressed optimism regarding their strong cash position, which allows for rapid progress in early-stage clinical studies.

Guidance

The company anticipates that rusfertide and icotrokinra will progress to NDA filings by the end of 2025. Protagonist expects to advance its early-stage pipeline, beginning with PN-881 in 2025, and plans to present additional data from ongoing studies at upcoming medical conferences. The strong cash position of $697.9 million should support operations through at least the end of 2028.

Additional News

Protagonist Therapeutics has recently announced several significant developments. On April 15, 2025, the company granted an equity inducement award to a new employee, consisting of options to purchase 20,000 shares of common stock, underlining its commitment to attracting talent. Furthermore, Protagonist Therapeutics was recognized by Fast Company as one of the World's Most Innovative Biotechnology companies of 2025, highlighting its advancements in peptide drug development. Lastly, the company disclosed that its Phase 3 VERIFY study data for rusfertide will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, a notable platform for sharing clinical findings.