Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) Stock: Insider William Scully Purchases 10,000 Shares

Key Points

• Major shareholder William Scully purchased 10,000 Prothena shares at an average price of $8.46, investing $84,600 and increasing his holdings by 0.97% to 1.037 million shares.
• Prothena shares traded around $8.50, near the lower end of their 52-week range of $7.73–$11.80. The company recently beat quarterly EPS expectations, reporting a loss of $0.32 per share versus the projected $0.39 loss.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $24.57, while institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.08% of the company’s stock.

Prothena Corporation plc (NASDAQ:PRTA - Get Free Report) major shareholder William Scully purchased 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.46 per share, with a total value of $84,600.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 1,037,000 shares in the company, valued at $8,773,020. This represents a 0.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company's stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Prothena Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PRTA traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $8.50. 358,337 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 512,088. The stock has a market cap of $444.98 million, a PE ratio of -10.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of -0.29. The company's fifty day moving average is $8.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.32. Prothena Corporation plc has a fifty-two week low of $7.73 and a fifty-two 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 business had revenue of $1.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.42 million. Research analysts forecast that Prothena Corporation plc will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRTA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Prothena from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Prothena in a research report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Prothena in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Prothena from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities 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 given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.57.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Prothena by 179.1% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,704 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 3,660 shares during the period. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA bought a new position in Prothena during the first quarter worth $146,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Prothena during the second quarter worth $148,000. Sei Investments Co. bought a new position in Prothena during the first quarter worth $168,000. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Prothena during the 2nd quarter valued at $281,000. 97.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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