Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.03 EPS

Key Points

• Prothena beat quarterly expectations: The biotech reported a loss of $0.36 per share, $0.03 better than analysts’ projected loss of $0.39, while revenue of $1.01 million exceeded the $0.42 million consensus estimate. The company remained deeply unprofitable, with a negative net margin of 260.92%.
• Shares rose 1.1% to $8.58 following the results, but remain well below the 12-month high of $11.80. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $23.75.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 97.08%: Major investors including Rubric Capital, State Street and JPMorgan increased their holdings, while insiders collectively bought 345,000 shares worth about $3.1 million over the past 90 days.

Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The biotechnology company reported ($0.36) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.39) by $0.03, FiscalAI reports. Prothena had a negative net margin of 260.92% and a negative return on equity of 43.44%. The business had revenue of $1.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $0.42 million.

Prothena Stock Up 1.1%

Prothena stock traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $8.58. The stock had a trading volume of 418,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 565,116. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $8.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $449.16 million, a P/E ratio of -3.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of -0.30. Prothena has a 12-month low of $7.39 and a 12-month high of $11.80.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRTA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Prothena from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered Prothena from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Prothena in a research report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Prothena in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Prothena in a report on Friday, May 8th. One 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $23.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder William P. Scully purchased 20,000 shares of Prothena stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $7.90 per share, with a total value of $158,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 756,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,972,400. The trade was a 2.72% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Michael John Isaacs sold 8,386 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.47, for a total transaction of $71,029.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 35,745 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $302,760.15. The trade was a 19.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have bought a total of 345,000 shares of company stock worth $3,097,250 over the last 90 days. 10.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PRTA. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Prothena by 138.7% during the 4th quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 3,677,331 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $35,119,000 after acquiring an additional 2,136,958 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Prothena by 151.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,267,802 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $21,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,366,764 shares during the period. Rangeley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prothena in the second quarter worth approximately $4,342,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Prothena during the third quarter valued at approximately $6,386,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Prothena by 479.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 735,765 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $7,181,000 after purchasing an additional 608,814 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.08% of the company's stock.

Prothena Company Profile

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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