Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) Shares Break Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• Prothena shares fell below their 200-day moving average of $9.26, reaching $7.96 before closing at $8.25. The stock has a market capitalization of approximately $431.9 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with an overall “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $24.57, despite one downgrade to “Hold” and a sell rating.
• Insiders purchased 867,500 shares worth about $7.4 million over the past quarter, while institutional investors own approximately 97.1% of the company. Prothena’s latest quarterly loss was narrower than expected, with revenue exceeding analyst estimates.

Prothena Corporation plc (NASDAQ:PRTA - Get Free Report)'s stock price passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $9.26 and traded as low as $7.96. Prothena shares last traded at $8.25, with a volume of 381,828 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PRTA. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Prothena in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings raised Prothena from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Prothena from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, 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. One 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.57.

Prothena Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $431.89 million, a PE ratio of -9.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of -0.29. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $8.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.26.

Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 80.68% and a negative return on equity of 16.45%. The business had revenue of $1.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.42 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Prothena Corporation plc will post 0.08 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder William P. Scully purchased 162,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.68 per share, with a total value of $1,406,160.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 214,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,857,520. This trade represents a 311.54% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have purchased a total of 867,500 shares of company stock worth $7,432,350 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 10.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PRTA. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its stake in Prothena by 6.2% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 61,507 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $515,000 after acquiring an additional 3,589 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Prothena by 179.1% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,704 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 3,660 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in shares of Prothena in the second quarter worth $404,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prothena in the 2nd quarter valued at $148,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Prothena in the 2nd quarter valued at $413,000. 97.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Prothena

Prothena Corporation plc NASDAQ: PRTA is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing novel medicines for serious neurodegenerative and rare peripheral diseases. Its research is centered on disease-causing proteins, including amyloid-beta, alpha-synuclein and transthyretin, with the goal of creating antibody-based therapies that address underlying disease mechanisms.

The company's product pipeline has included birtamimab, an investigational antibody being developed for the treatment of AL amyloidosis, and prasinezumab, an investigational alpha-synuclein antibody being developed in collaboration with Roche for certain forms of Parkinson's disease.

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