Prothena Corporation plc (NASDAQ:PRTA) Receives $23.75 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Prothena Corporation plc (NASDAQ:PRTA) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $23.75.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PRTA. Weiss Ratings cut Prothena from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Prothena in a report on Friday, July 24th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Prothena in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Prothena in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Citizens Jmp boosted their price target on shares of Prothena from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th.

Prothena Stock Performance

Shares of PRTA opened at $9.25 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.39. Prothena has a 52 week low of $7.73 and a 52 week high of $11.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $484.24 million, a P/E ratio of -11.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of -0.30.

Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.39) by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.42 million. Prothena had a negative net margin of 80.68% and a negative return on equity of 16.45%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Prothena will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Prothena

In other news, General Counsel Michael John Isaacs sold 8,386 shares of Prothena stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.47, for a total value of $71,029.42. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 35,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $302,760.15. This trade represents a 19.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anne Evans Kingston sold 7,662 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.47, for a total transaction of $64,897.14. Following the transaction, the insider owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $472,473.54. The trade was a 12.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 295,000 shares of company stock worth $2,555,750. Insiders own 10.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Prothena

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Prothena by 151.8% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 6,001 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $613,000 after buying an additional 3,618 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Prothena in the second quarter valued at $148,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Prothena during the second quarter worth $413,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Prothena during the second quarter worth $281,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Prothena by 2.5% in the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 90,795 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $889,000 after acquiring an additional 2,251 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.08% of the company’s stock.

About Prothena

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.