Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) Shares Up 8.7% – Here’s Why

Prothena Corporation plc (NASDAQ:PRTA) was up 8.7% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $9.42 and last traded at $9.4250. Approximately 189,777 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 459,746 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.67.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Prothena in a report on Monday, December 1st. HC Wainwright raised their price target on Prothena from $20.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $19.00 price objective on Prothena in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Citizens Jmp set a $19.00 target price on shares of Prothena in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Prothena in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prothena currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

Prothena Trading Up 8.5%

The company has a market cap of $506.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.07, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of -0.24. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $9.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.46.

Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.44) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.45) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $0.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.67 million. Prothena had a negative net margin of 2,520.57% and a negative return on equity of 62.53%. Sell-side analysts predict that Prothena Corporation plc will post -4.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Prospera Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Prothena in the second quarter worth $61,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Prothena by 571.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 12,709 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 10,815 shares in the last quarter. Corton Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Prothena in the second quarter valued at about $85,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Prothena by 650.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,246 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 8,880 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Prothena during the fourth quarter worth about $100,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.08% of the company’s stock.

Prothena Company Profile

Prothena Corporation plc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel therapies for neurodegenerative and rare diseases driven by misfolded proteins. The company’s research focuses on immunotherapies and small molecules designed to target and clear disease-causing protein aggregates. Prothena leverages proprietary protein engineering and antibody discovery platforms to advance candidates through preclinical and clinical stages.

The company’s most advanced program is an antibody targeting aggregated alpha-synuclein for the potential treatment of Parkinson’s disease, currently in mid-stage clinical trials.