Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) Major Shareholder William Scully Purchases 125,000 Shares

Prothena Corporation plc (NASDAQ:PRTA) major shareholder William Scully purchased 125,000 shares of Prothena stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,021,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Prothena Price Performance

Shares of PRTA stock traded down $0.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $8.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 314,129 shares, compared to its average volume of 502,921. Prothena Corporation plc has a 1-year low of $4.95 and a 1-year high of $11.80. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $10.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.65. The company has a market capitalization of $431.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of -0.25.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PRTA shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $19.00 price objective on Prothena in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings cut Prothena from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Prothena from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Prothena in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Citizens Jmp upped their price target on Prothena from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prothena

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Prothena by 479.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 735,765 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $7,181,000 after purchasing an additional 608,814 shares during the period. Focused Wealth Management Inc lifted its stake in Prothena by 88.1% in the fourth quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 107,479 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,026,000 after buying an additional 50,350 shares during the last quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA purchased a new stake in Prothena in the first quarter valued at approximately $146,000. Penbrook Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prothena in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,641,000. Finally, Seven Fleet Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Prothena in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $414,000. 97.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.