Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) Stock Breaks Above Fifty Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• Prothena shares rose above their 50-day moving average, reaching $8.85 and last trading at $8.77, versus a $8.64 average.
• Analysts have a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $20, though recent ratings were mixed.
• The company’s latest quarter missed estimates: loss per share was $0.32 versus a $0.23 expected loss, while revenue was $0.62 million against $9.58 million expected. Insiders bought 1,017,500 shares during the quarter.

Prothena Corporation plc (NASDAQ:PRTA - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $8.64 and traded as high as $8.85. Prothena shares last traded at $8.77, with a volume of 741,117 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRTA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Prothena in a research note on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Prothena in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered Prothena from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Prothena from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $20.00.

Prothena Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $459.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of -0.20. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.19.

Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($0.09). Prothena had a negative net margin of 80.68% and a negative return on equity of 16.45%. The business had revenue of $0.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.58 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Prothena Corporation plc will post 0.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Prothena

In other Prothena news, major shareholder William P. Scully purchased 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $8.07 per share, with a total value of $403,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,187,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,579,090. This represents a 4.40% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 1,017,500 shares of company stock worth $8,654,850. 10.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prothena

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PRTA. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prothena during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $239,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prothena by 59.8% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 25,779 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 9,650 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 3,589 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew 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 purchasing an additional 3,660 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in shares of Prothena during the second quarter valued at $404,000. 97.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prothena Company Profile

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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