Share count
64Mpeak FY2024
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PTGX, Protagonist Therapeutics Inc.
Protagonist Therapeutics Inc. is an integrated discovery and development company with a validated technology platform.
Our Development Products and Discovery Programs Icotyde (icotrokinra) Icotyde (icotrokinra) is a first-in-class investigational targeted oral peptide that selectively blocks the Interleukin-23 receptor ("IL-23R"), which underpins the inflammatory response in psoriasis and offers potential in other IL-23-mediated diseases.
BTD also provides eligibility for priority NDA review, and Orphan Drug status qualifies sponsors for various incentives, including the potential for extended market exclusivity.
The business
What it sells, where the money comes from, the kind of company it is.
Revenue · FY2025
$46M
−89.4% YoY · 10% 5-yr CAGR
Vital signs · TTM
Cash & investments $620M
Cash burn · annual $117M
Runway 5.3 yrs
The business in brief
read the 10-K →What this business is and what moves its needle, from its own SEC filings.
- Situation
- Unprofitable. No meaningful revenue yet; the record is the cash on hand against the burn. Net current asset value. Current assets alone exceed every liability combined, and the surplus is most of the balance sheet: the shape Graham called a net-net.
- What moves the needle
- Operating margin has reached 58% at its best but run negative through the cycle (median −225%) — so the question is which reading is truer: whether the median was pulled below zero by one-off charges, by the cycle, or by spending it is still growing into, and whether it settles back at a profit. Stock-based pay runs about 49% of sales, a real and recurring claim on owners that the GAAP margin understates. Read this kind of business on the pipeline against the patent cliff, and pricing. On its own account, the filing leans hardest on pricing power & competition, set against the numbers in what the filing emphasizes, below.
- Is it a good business?
- Return on capital has rarely cleared the cost of capital (median −56%, above 15% in 1 of 9 years). Owner earnings, the cash-based check, have been thin too. This is price-taker territory, where the balance sheet and the cycle matter more than any multiple; the rest is in the 10-K.
Every line is arithmetic on the company's filings, shown in full in the sections below.
The record
Ten years of arithmetic, read across the cycle.
The record, 2017–2025
realized figures from each filing · older years to the left| 2017’17 | 2018’18 | 2019’19 | 2020’20 | 2021’21 | 2022’22 | 2023’23 | 2024’24 | 2025’25 | TTMTTMMar 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | ||||||||||
| $20M | $31M | $231K | $29M | $27M | $27M | $60M | $434M | $46M | $74M | RevenueRevenue |
| 59% | 44% | n/m | 65% | 99% | 119% | 56% | 10% | 97% | 63% | SG&A / revenueSG&A/rev |
| 230% | 192% | n/m | 260% | 461% | 475% | 200% | 32% | 346% | 230% | R&D / revenueR&D/rev |
| ($38M) | ($42M) | ($81M) | ($65M) | ($126M) | ($131M) | ($94M) | $253M | ($158M) | ($142M) | Operating incomeOp. inc. |
| −188.9% | −136.7% | n/m | −225.4% | −460.0% | −494.2% | −156.1% | 58.2% | −343.6% | −192.4% | Operating marginOp. mgn |
| ($37M) | ($39M) | ($77M) | ($66M) | ($126M) | ($127M) | ($79M) | $275M | ($130M) | ($115M) | Net incomeNet inc. |
| Cash flow & returns | ||||||||||
| $4M | ($50M) | ($42M) | ($72M) | ($108M) | ($108M) | ($70M) | $184M | $58M | ($117M) | Operating cash flowOp. cash |
| $406K | $527K | $732K | $948K | $813K | $1M | $977K | $826K | $1M | $1M | DepreciationDeprec. |
| $36M | ($18M) | $27M | ($15M) | $478K | ($6M) | ($22M) | ($129M) | $141M | ($50M) | Working capital & otherWC & other |
| $666K | $486K | $967K | $471K | $1M | $795K | $609K | $1M | $2M | $1M | CapexCapex |
| 3.3% | 1.6% | 418.6% | 1.6% | 4.0% | 3.0% | 1.0% | 0.3% | 3.5% | 1.7% | Capex / revenueCapex/rev |
| $3M | ($50M) | ($42M) | ($73M) | ($109M) | ($109M) | ($71M) | $183M | $56M | ($118M) | Owner earningsOwner earn. |
| 17.3% | −163.1% | n/m | −254.8% | −397.3% | −409.8% | −118.1% | 42.2% | 121.9% | −159.2% | Owner earnings marginOE mgn |
| $3M | ($50M) | ($42M) | ($73M) | ($109M) | ($109M) | ($71M) | $183M | $56M | ($118M) | Free cash flowFCF |
| 16.0% | −163.1% | n/m | −254.8% | −398.3% | −409.8% | −118.1% | 42.1% | 121.9% | −159.2% | Free cash flow marginFCF mgn |
| -205% | -110% | -112% | -31% | -56% | -115% | -49% | 43% | -26% | -24% | ROICROIC |
| -31% | -35% | -97% | -24% | -42% | -59% | -23% | 41% | -21% | -18% | Return on equityROE |
| −31% | −35% | −97% | −24% | −42% | −59% | −23% | 41% | −21% | −18% | Retained to equityRetained/eq |
| Balance sheet | ||||||||||
| $155M | $129M | $133M | $308M | $327M | $237M | $342M | $559M | $646M | $620M | Cash & investmentsCash+inv |
| $1M | $6M | $3M | $3M | $2M | $4M | $772K | $2M | $5M | $8M | Accounts payablePayables |
| $151M | $138M | $145M | $316M | $341M | $243M | $356M | $592M | $578M | $613M | Current assetsCur. assets |
| $43M | $26M | $35M | $40M | $44M | $31M | $21M | $47M | $45M | $35M | Current liabilitiesCur. liab. |
| 3.5× | 5.3× | 4.1× | 7.8× | 7.7× | 7.8× | 16.7× | 12.5× | 12.7× | 17.8× | Current ratioCurr. ratio |
| $164M | $139M | $155M | $324M | $348M | $248M | $358M | $745M | $668M | $697M | Total assetsAssets |
| — | — | -476.5× | -107.9× | — | — | — | — | — | -238.2× | Interest coverageInt. cov. |
| $121M | $113M | $80M | $280M | $300M | $216M | $337M | $675M | $615M | $655M | Shareholders’ equityEquity |
| 21.1% | 22.4% | n/m | 27.6% | 59.9% | 91.0% | 48.8% | 8.6% | 99.9% | 63.0% | Stock comp / revenueSBC/rev |
| Per share | ||||||||||
| 17.7M | 22.4M | 25.9M | 34.4M | 46.3M | 49.0M | 56.8M | 65.1M | 63.6M | 70.5M | Shares out (diluted)Shares |
| $1.13 | $1.38 | $0.01 | $0.83 | $0.59 | $0.54 | $1.06 | $6.68 | $0.72 | $1.05 | Revenue / shareRev/sh |
| $-2.09 | $-1.74 | $-2.98 | $-1.92 | $-2.71 | $-2.60 | $-1.39 | $4.23 | $-2.05 | $-1.63 | EPS (diluted)EPS |
| $0.20 | $-2.26 | $-1.63 | $-2.12 | $-2.35 | $-2.22 | $-1.25 | $2.82 | $0.88 | $-1.67 | Owner earnings / shareOE/sh |
| $0.18 | $-2.26 | $-1.64 | $-2.12 | $-2.35 | $-2.22 | $-1.25 | $2.81 | $0.88 | $-1.67 | Free cash flow / shareFCF/sh |
| $0.04 | $0.02 | $0.04 | $0.01 | $0.02 | $0.02 | $0.01 | $0.02 | $0.03 | $0.02 | Cap. spending / shareCapex/sh |
| $6.82 | $5.03 | $3.09 | $8.13 | $6.48 | $4.40 | $5.93 | $10.38 | $9.67 | $9.30 | Book value / shareBVPS |
Per-share growththe realized rate an owner's share compounded
| 8-yr | 5-yr | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue / share | −5.5%/yr | −2.8%/yr |
| Owner earnings / share | +20.7%/yr | — |
| Capital spending / share | −5.0%/yr | +12.8%/yr |
| Book value / share | +4.5%/yr | +3.5%/yr |
The record, charted
FY2017–2025Each measure over its full record; the current point and the worst year marked.
ROIC
−26%low FY2017
Owner earnings vs. net income
Owner earningsNet incomeThe accountant's number, and the cash an owner can take; the gap is the tell.
$56Mowner earningsvs.($130M)net incomelow FY2022
Where the cash went
ReinvestBuybacksDividendsAcquisitionsRetainedEach year's operating cash, by what management did with it: the mix, and how it drifts.
FY2017FY2025
Net income is the accountant's number; owner earnings is the cash an owner could take out. The walk between them, off the cash-flow statement, and whether the gap is widening or holding.
In fiscal 2025 the business turned a $130M loss into $56M of owner earnings: more cash than the profit line showed, after the non-cash charges and the capital it put back in.
| FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reported net income | ($130M) | $275M | ($79M) | ($127M) | ($126M) |
| Depreciation & amortizationnon-cash charge added back | +$1M | +$826K | +$977K | +$1M | +$813K |
| Stock-based compensationreal costnon-cash, but a real cost | +$46M | +$38M | +$29M | +$24M | +$16M |
| Working capital & othertiming of cash in and out, other non-cash items | +$141M | −$129M | −$22M | −$6M | +$478K |
| Cash from operations | $58M | $184M | ($70M) | ($108M) | ($108M) |
| Maintenance capital expenditurethe spending needed just to hold position and volume | −$2M | −$826K | −$609K | −$795K | −$813K |
| Owner earnings | $56M | $183M | ($71M) | ($109M) | ($109M) |
| Growth capital expenditurediscretionary; spent to get bigger, not to stand still | — | −$529K | — | — | −$288K |
| Free cash flow | $56M | $183M | ($71M) | ($109M) | ($109M) |
| Owner-earnings marginowner earnings ÷ revenue | 122% | 42% | -118% | -410% | -397% |
Owner earnings is the cash an owner could pull out without starving the business: operating cash less the capital it must spend to hold its position . The cash-flow statement also adds stock comp back as non-cash, but it is a real cost paid in shares; counted as the expense it is (less $46M), owner earnings is nearer $10M.
Maintenance capex is estimated as depreciation where a growing business invests above it; free cash flow is the figure the scorecard's free-cash margin reads.
Quality & stewardship
Returns, the balance sheet, capital allocation, and pay.
Owner’s Scorecard
FY2025 10-K · source on SEC EDGAR →
Will it survive?
- Can it pay its interest? -264.4×Does not cover its interestOperating income ($158M) ÷ interest expense $598K
What this means
A full year of operating profit didn't cover the interest bill. This is the zombie zone: the business depends on refinancing, asset sales, or forbearance to service its debt.
- Net cashCash $128M + ST investments $439M − debt $10M
What this means
Cash and short-term investments exceed every dollar of debt by $558M, on net the company owes nothing, and can act from strength when others can't. It also holds $79M in longer-dated marketable securities; counting those, it sits at net cash of $636M. Net debt is the leverage figure that matters: the cash is already set against the debt. Strategic or illiquid investments aren't counted here.
- Not enough data
What this means
The filing data didn't include the inputs for this check.
Is it a good business?
- Below average through the cycle9-yr median, range -205%–43%; -25% latest = NOPAT ($125M) ÷ invested capital $496MIndustry peers: median -45%
What this means
The rate the business earns on the money tied up in it, Buffett's north star, because over time a stock tracks the ROIC beneath it. Above ~15% sustained hints at a moat; a return below the cost of capital (~8%) erodes value as a business grows rather than building it — the test Buffett weighs most. The headline is the median of the last 9 years (it ran -25% most recently), so one peak or trough year doesn't set the verdict. Asset-light businesses (R&D expensed, little capital) read artificially high, pair this with Owner Earnings.
- Positive this year, negative across the cyclelatest $56M = operating cash $58M − maintenance capex $2M (positive this year), after an earlier loss stretch (9-yr median -163%)Industry peers: median -512%
What this means
What an owner could take out without starving the business: operating cash less the maintenance capital it must spend to hold its position — Buffett's owner earnings. That's 122% of revenue this year, a -163% median across 9 years. Treating stock comp as the real expense it is (less $46M of SBC) leaves $10M.
- Loss, but cash-generativeNet income ($130M) · cash from operations $58M
What this means
The company reported a net loss, so a conversion ratio isn't meaningful. What matters then is whether operations still threw off cash, here, they did.
How is the cash used?
- Not enough data
What this means
The filing data didn't include the inputs for this check.
- Investing or harvesting? 1.24×ExpandingCapex $2M ÷ depreciation $1M
What this means
Descriptive, not a grade. Above ~1× means investing faster than assets wear out (growth, or, sustained for years, today's earnings carrying less depreciation than tomorrow's will). Below means spending less than it's wearing out (efficiency, or a melting asset base). The ratio won't tell you which; the filings will.
Graham’s defensive tests · 2 of 5 met
Graham’s numerical criteria for the defensive investor (The Intelligent Investor, ch. 14), run on the filings. A floor of safety, not a buy signal; many fine modern businesses fail his strictest liquidity rules by design.
- Adequate size MissRevenue ≥ $2B · $46M
What this means
Big enough to weather a storm. Graham's 1972 floor was ~$100M of sales (≈ $700M today); we use a $2B revenue line as a conservative modern stand-in.
- Strong liquidity PassCurrent ratio ≥ 2× · 12.71×
What this means
Current assets at least twice current liabilities, near-term bills covered without touching the business. Strict by design: many cash-rich modern firms run leaner and miss it, holding their cushion in longer-dated securities.
- Conservative debt PassDebt ≤ working capital · $10M vs $532M WC
What this means
Graham's rule that borrowings not exceed net current assets. Capital-heavy and buyback-heavy firms routinely fail it, read it next to interest coverage, not alone.
- Earnings stability MissA profit every year (9-yr record) · 8 loss years
What this means
Graham wanted earnings in each of the past ten years, the stability a defensive owner leans on.
- Dividend record MissUninterrupted dividends · none paid
What this means
An unbroken dividend was Graham's mark of durability. He wanted twenty years; the filings show about ten, and a single suspension breaks the streak. Non-payers, many fine modern compounders, fall outside his defensive net by design.
- Earnings growth —Earnings +33% over the record · —
What this means
Earnings were negative early in the record, a growth rate isn't meaningful.
- Moderate price —P/E ≤ 15 and P/E × P/B ≤ 22.5 · decided by the price
What this means
Graham's valuation gate, the wall he kept between a sound business and a sound investment. Three-year average earnings are $0.34/share (latest year $-2.02), the averaged base the calculator's gate runs on, and book value is $9.56/share. Enter a price in “What the price implies” just below for the P/E, P/B, and whether it clears. But this is the rule Buffett outgrew: there's no hard P/E law, and a wonderful business can deserve a far richer multiple if the thesis holds, treat it as the bargain-hunter's floor, not a verdict on the price.
Durability & moat, 2017–2025
Whether the record’s returns held, and what the capital reinvested earned.
- Profitable years 1 of 9
What this means
Lost money in 8 year(s), look at what happened there before trusting the average.
- Operating margin −11728% → −147% (3-yr avg ends)
In the filing’s words The record and the words agree: the margin widened and the filing attributes the gain to its own pricing, not volume alone.
What this means
Through the cycle the operating margin widened — about −11728% early to −147% lately, median −225% — pricing power intact or improving.
- Reinvestment, incremental ROIC returns capital
What this means
The capital base barely grew: this business returns cash through dividends and buybacks rather than reinvesting. Judge it on the cash returned, not on compounding.
- Worst year 2019 · −34857.6% op. margin
What this means
Operations went underwater in 2019, understand why before trusting the good years.
Does AI threaten the moat?
Low contestabilityThe moat is physical, regulated or balance-sheet-funded, the kind AI cuts costs within but does not contest.
In its own filing A competitive risk, new this year
Its FY2025 10-K names artificial intelligence as a competitive threat, in language that was not in the prior year's filing.
“Moreover, we also face increased competition from other companies that are using artificial intelligence, some of whom may be able to more quickly and effectively identify and develop novel product candidates compared to us and our business partners, which could impair our ability to compete effectively and have a mate…”
AI is unlikely to contest a moat that is physical, regulated or balance-sheet-funded; here it reads more as a cost tool than a threat.
Read from the filing's own risk factors, paired with the industry's structure under its SIC code; the durability is read above, the price below.
All figures as filed; the source filing is linked above.
Current Position
as of the latest quarter, Mar 31, 2026Can the business pay what it owes this year, off the freshest balance sheet: the quality of the assets, the debt actually coming due, and what a low ratio means here.
Current assets$613M
- Cash & short-term investments$548M
- Other current assets$66M
Current liabilities$35M
- Accounts payable$8M
- Other current liabilities$26M
Current ratio17.76×all current assets ÷ what's due · Graham looked for 2×
Quick ratio—inventory untagged this quarter, so withheld rather than shown equal to the current ratio
Cash ratio15.86×strictest: cash alone against what's due
Working capital$579Mthe cushion left after near-term bills
Cash runway4.6 yrsthe business is consuming cash; this is how long the cash on hand lasts at that rate
Revenue, latest quarter vs. a year ago+99.0%the freshest read on whether the business is still growing
Current ratio, recent quarters13.7× → 17.8×
Deeper floors
Tangible book value$655Mequity stripped of goodwill & intangibles
Net current asset value$571MGraham's net-net: current assets less all liabilities
Debt incl. operating leases$20M$10M of it operating leases
Deferred revenue$3Mcustomer cash collected before delivery; operating float
From the company's latest filing.
Management, ownership & pay
read the proxy →From the proxy: how much of the business the people running it own, and how they are paid, beside what the business earned for its owners in the same years.
| Fiscal year | Pay, as filed | “Actually paid” | Owner earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $5.5M | $12.1M | ($109M) |
| 2022 | $6.0M | −$5.2M | ($109M) |
| 2023 | $7.1M | $15.3M | ($71M) |
| 2024 | $9.5M | $17.9M | $183M |
| 2025 | $12.9M | $46.1M | $56M |
Both pay figures are the company’s own, from the pay-versus-performance table its proxy statement files. “As filed” is the Summary Compensation Table total: salary, bonus, and equity awards at their value on the day of grant. “Actually paid” is the SEC’s prescribed recalculation, which re-marks those equity awards to what they became as they vested; it can swing far above or below the filed figure in either direction, and negative years occur. Owner earnings are the whole business's, from the record above, for the same fiscal years.
- Insider ownership5.2%
The stake all directors and executive officers hold together, per the 2026 proxy: skin in the game, the first thing Munger reads.
- CEO pay ratio30:1
What the chief earns for every dollar the median employee makes, per the 2026 proxy. A high ratio alone settles nothing; some businesses are genuinely top-heavy in scarce skill. A runaway figure is where Buffett starts asking whether the board is doing its job.
- Stock-based compensation$46M
The slice of the business handed to employees in shares this year, 100% of revenue. Buffett's oldest accounting fight: this is compensation, compensation is an expense, real whether or not the headline earnings admit it. One trap: the cash-flow statement adds SBC back, so the operating cash, and the owner earnings drawn from it, are flattered by exactly this amount; counted as the cost it is, what an owner keeps is lower.
Peers, Pharmaceuticals
The same industry, side by side on owner economics. Each figure is a through-cycle median, so a peak or trough year can’t distort it; the group median at the foot is the line to read each against.
| Company | Revenue | Gross margin | Op. margin | ROIC | Owner earn. margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NKTRNektar Therapeutics | $55M | 82% | -265.8% | -46% | -212% |
| AGIOAgios Pharmaceuticals Inc. | $54M | 94% | -809.9% | -44% | -686% |
| LXRXLexicon Pharmaceuticals Inc. | $50M | 91% | -388.5% | -63% | -611% |
| PTGXProtagonist Therapeutics Inc. | $46M | — | -225.4% | -56% | -163% |
| SEPNSepterna Inc. | $46M | — | -148.6% | -21% | -6407% |
| AQSTAquestive Therapeutics Inc. | $45M | 60% | -72.6% | — | -62% |
| PVLAPalvella Therapeutics Inc. | $43M | — | -124.9% | — | -77% |
| WVEWave Life Sciences Ltd. | $43M | — | -935.3% | — | -512% |
| Group median | — | — | -245.6% | -46% | -362% |
The price
What a price has to assume.
What the price implies
reverse-DCFType today's close and see the owner-earnings growth you'd have to believe to justify it, beside what Protagonist Therapeutics Inc. has delivered.
Protagonist Therapeutics Inc.’s latest year shows negative owner earnings, below the record’s own through-cycle owner earnings. So the tool opens on the through-cycle base, the cash it would earn at rest; clear the toggle below to read the latest year exactly as reported.
$
Base
—
The assumptions
9.0% = the 4.55% 10-year Treasury (Jul 15, 2026) + 4.45 points of equity premium. The rate you require is yours to set.
Enter a price above to run it.
A dated snapshot of the price you typed, the assumptions you set, and what the page showed for them. A snapshot is never edited after it is saved. Your notebook is yours alone — the commitment states what is stored and what we will never do.
Implied by the price—
Owner-earnings growth · since FY2024−69%/yr
Owner-earnings growth · since FY2024−69%/yr
Owner-earnings yield—
What a growth belief costs, in multiples
The growth each return requires, at your price
P/E (3-yr earnings ’23–’25)—
P/B—
Graham’s price gate—
Graham capped the multiple at 15×; Buffett and Munger let that rule go: a wonderful business can deserve 50× if the thesis holds. The gate marks the bargain-hunter's floor.
Against a high-grade bond: Graham’s yardstick bond yield%
Prefilled with the 10-year Treasury (4.55%, as of Jul 15, 2026). Edit it for today’s exact figure, or a AAA corporate yield.
Graham measured a stock against the bond you could own instead, the heart of his margin of safety. Enter a price above to weigh the owner-earnings yield against this bond.
Owner-earnings yield—
High-grade bond yield—
Margin over the bond—
Owner earnings ($118M) on 64M shares outstanding, per the 10-Q cover, as of 2026-04-30; net cash $611M. The if-converted diluted count is 70M, 10% above the shares outstanding: the dilution overhang (convertibles, options) a buyer inherits. The base opens on the through-cycle figure (the latest year sits off the record’s own median, and Graham’s averaging cuts both ways); clear Normalize to use the year as filed. Net of stock comp treats option pay as the expense it is. The dials set the multiple a growth belief justifies; the price, and every dollar on this page, is yours.
Cite: Owner Scorecard, "Protagonist Therapeutics Inc. (PTGX), the owner's record," https://ownerscorecard.com/c/PTGX, data as of 2026-07-09.
Manual order: ← PTEN its page in the Manual PTLO →
Industry order: ← PTCT the Pharmaceuticals chapter PVLA →