Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) Stock Passes Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Prothena Corporation plc (NASDAQ:PRTA)’s stock price passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $9.46 and traded as low as $8.51. Prothena shares last traded at $8.75, with a volume of 647,643 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on PRTA shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Prothena from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Prothena from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Citizens Jmp lifted their price target on shares of Prothena from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Prothena in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.75.

Prothena Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $446.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of -0.31. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.45.

Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.31) by $0.91. The firm had revenue of $51.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.81 million. Prothena had a negative net margin of 260.92% and a negative return on equity of 43.44%. Equities analysts anticipate that Prothena Corporation plc will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder William P. Scully acquired 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,021,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 1,061,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,668,370. This represents a 13.35% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have acquired a total of 345,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,097,250 over the last three months. Company insiders own 10.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prothena

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PRTA. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in Prothena during the 1st quarter worth approximately $230,000. Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of Prothena by 373.0% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 50,569 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 39,879 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Prothena by 72.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 59,965 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $364,000 after acquiring an additional 25,129 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Prothena by 7,956.6% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 96,196 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $584,000 after purchasing an additional 95,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Prothena by 251.8% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 46,047 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 32,959 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.