Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) Major Shareholder Buys $890,100.00 in Stock

Prothena Corporation plc (NASDAQ:PRTA) major shareholder William Scully bought 103,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.60 per share, with a total value of $890,100.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 187,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,608,200. This represents a 123.95% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Prothena Stock Performance

Shares of Prothena stock opened at $8.54 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $8.91 and a 200-day moving average of $9.35. Prothena Corporation plc has a 52-week low of $7.73 and a 52-week high of $11.80. The stock has a market cap of $447.07 million, a PE ratio of -10.17, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of -0.29.

Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.39) by $0.07. Prothena had a negative net margin of 80.68% and a negative return on equity of 16.45%. The business had revenue of $1.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.42 million. Equities research analysts predict that Prothena Corporation plc will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on PRTA shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Prothena in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Prothena from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered Prothena from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Prothena in a report on Friday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Prothena has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.57.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prothena

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rubric Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Prothena by 36.0% in the 1st quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 5,000,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,600,000 after buying an additional 1,322,669 shares in the last quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prothena by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 1,581,443 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $15,372,000 after acquiring an additional 123,679 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Prothena by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 782,603 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $7,606,000 after acquiring an additional 7,396 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Prothena by 39.5% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 607,515 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,905,000 after acquiring an additional 172,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Penbrook Management LLC bought a new position in Prothena in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,641,000. 97.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Prothena

Prothena Corporation plc (NASDAQ: PRTA) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing novel therapies for neurodegenerative and other protein-misfolding diseases. The company’s research is based on targeting abnormal proteins and the biological processes associated with their accumulation in tissue.

Prothena’s lead programs include birtamimab, an investigational antibody being developed for patients with AL amyloidosis, and prasinezumab, an investigational antibody targeting alpha-synuclein for Parkinson’s disease.