Prothena Corporation plc (NASDAQ:PRTA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Prothena has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from eight analysts, with five buys, one strong buy, one hold, and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $23.75, well above the reported share price of $9.45.
• The biotechnology company beat quarterly expectations, reporting an adjusted loss of $0.32 per share versus the expected $0.39 loss and revenue of $1.01 million versus the $0.42 million estimate. However, it remains unprofitable, with an 80.68% negative net margin.
• Insider activity was net positive in the latest quarter, with insiders purchasing 295,000 shares worth $2.56 million; insiders own 10.4% of the company, while institutional investors hold 97.08%.

Shares of Prothena Corporation plc (NASDAQ:PRTA - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the eight research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $23.75.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Prothena in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Prothena from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Prothena in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Citizens Jmp increased their price target on Prothena from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Prothena from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th.

Prothena Price Performance

Prothena stock opened at $9.45 on Monday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $8.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.37. The company has a market cap of $494.71 million, a PE ratio of -11.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of -0.29. Prothena has a twelve month low of $7.73 and a twelve month high of $11.80.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Prothena

In other news, General Counsel Michael John Isaacs sold 8,386 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the general counsel owned 35,745 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $302,760.15. This represents a 19.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder William P. Scully bought 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.17 per share, with a total value of $1,021,250.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 1,061,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,668,370. The trade was a 13.35% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought 295,000 shares of company stock worth $2,555,750 over the last quarter. Insiders own 10.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Prothena

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of Prothena by 571.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 12,709 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 10,815 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new position in Prothena in the 4th quarter valued at $100,000. PDT Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Prothena in the fourth quarter worth $108,000. Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Prothena in the second quarter worth $113,000. Finally, DRW Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prothena during the fourth quarter worth $114,000. Institutional investors own 97.08% of the company's stock.

About Prothena

Prothena Corporation plc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel therapies for neurodegenerative and rare diseases driven by misfolded proteins. The company’s research focuses on immunotherapies and small molecules designed to target and clear disease-causing protein aggregates. Prothena leverages proprietary protein engineering and antibody discovery platforms to advance candidates through preclinical and clinical stages.

The company’s most advanced program is an antibody targeting aggregated alpha-synuclein for the potential treatment of Parkinson’s disease, currently in mid-stage clinical trials.

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