Prothena Corporation plc (NASDAQ:PRTA) Stock Has Average Price Target of $24.57

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: Eight analysts have a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating on Prothena, with an average 12-month price target of $24.57 versus the stock’s $8.43 opening price.
• Shares have declined 4.6%: Prothena has a market capitalization of $441.34 million and trades near its 52-week low of $7.73. The company recently beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, but remains unprofitable.
• Institutional ownership remains high: Hedge funds and other institutions own 97.08% of the stock, while insiders purchased 757,500 shares last quarter despite two reported insider sales.

Shares of Prothena Corporation plc (NASDAQ:PRTA - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $24.57.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Prothena in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Prothena from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings cut Prothena from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Prothena in a report on Friday, July 24th.

Prothena Stock Down 4.6%

Shares of Prothena stock opened at $8.43 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $441.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.04, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of -0.29. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $8.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.33. Prothena has a 52 week low of $7.73 and a 52 week high of $11.80.

Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.39) by $0.07. Prothena had a negative return on equity of 16.45% and a negative net margin of 80.68%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.42 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Prothena will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Michael Isaacs sold 8,386 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were 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 owned 35,745 shares of the company's stock, valued at $302,760.15. This represents a 19.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Anne Kingston sold 7,662 shares of Prothena 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 sale, the insider owned 55,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $472,473.54. This represents a 12.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 757,500 shares of company stock valued at $6,512,750. 10.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Prothena

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Prothena by 179.1% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,704 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 3,660 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new stake in Prothena in the second quarter valued at $404,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Prothena in the second quarter valued at $148,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Prothena in the second quarter valued at $413,000. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Prothena in the second quarter valued at $281,000. 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 focused on discovering and developing therapies for diseases caused by protein misfolding or abnormal protein accumulation. Its research programs target neurological and systemic disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and transthyretin amyloidosis.

The company's pipeline has included PRX012, an investigational next-generation antibody targeting amyloid beta for Alzheimer's disease; prasinezumab, an anti-alpha-synuclein antibody being developed for Parkinson's disease through a collaboration with Roche; and birtamimab, an investigational treatment designed to target misfolded light chains associated with AL amyloidosis.

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