Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) Earns "Overweight" Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald

Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "overweight" rating restated by equities research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on PRTA. StockNews.com cut shares of Prothena from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, February 19th. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $38.00 price target (down previously from $68.00) on shares of Prothena in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Prothena from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Prothena from $98.00 to $80.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their price target on Prothena from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Prothena presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.63.

Prothena Price Performance

Shares of Prothena stock traded down $0.72 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $22.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 528,120 shares, compared to its average volume of 795,561. Prothena has a one year low of $21.90 and a one year high of $79.65. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $26.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.11. The stock has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.97 and a beta of 0.21.

Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.23) by ($0.03). Prothena had a negative net margin of 160.91% and a negative return on equity of 24.84%. The company had revenue of $0.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.12 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 99.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Prothena will post -4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Prothena news, CAO Karin L. Walker sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.00, for a total value of $170,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 28.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Prothena

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. KBC Group NV purchased a new stake in shares of Prothena in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Point72 Middle East FZE acquired a new position in Prothena in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Prothena by 265.9% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,544 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Prothena by 61.1% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,733 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the period. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Prothena by 99.0% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,375 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. 97.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Prothena

Prothena Corporation plc, a late-stage clinical biotechnology company, focuses on discovery and development of novel therapies to treat diseases caused by protein dysregulation in the United States. The company is involved in developing birtamimab, an investigational humanized antibody that is in Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of AL amyloidosis; Prasinezumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody, for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and other related synucleinopathies which is in Phase IIb clinical trial; NNC6019 that is in Phase lI clinical trial for the treatment of ATTR amyloidosis; and BMS-986446 and PRX012, which is in Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.