Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) Share Price Passes Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• Prothena shares fell below their 200-day moving average on Monday, trading as low as $8.76 and last changing hands at $8.83, down 4.4% on the session.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with an average Wall Street rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.75, despite a recent downgrade from Weiss Ratings.
• The company beat recent quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $0.60 EPS versus a loss expectation and $51.08 million in revenue, while insider William P. Scully bought 20,000 shares at $7.90 each.

Shares of Prothena Corporation plc (NASDAQ:PRTA - Get Free Report) passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $9.50 and traded as low as $8.76. Prothena shares last traded at $8.83, with a volume of 781,724 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PRTA shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Prothena from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised Prothena from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Citizens Jmp boosted their price target on shares of Prothena from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Prothena in a report on Friday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $23.75.

Prothena Stock Down 4.4%

The stock has a market cap of $462.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of -0.31. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $9.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.50.

Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.31) by $0.91. The company had revenue of $51.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.81 million. Prothena had a negative return on equity of 43.44% and a negative net margin of 260.92%. As a group, analysts expect that Prothena Corporation plc will post 0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder William P. Scully bought 20,000 shares of Prothena stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $7.90 per share, with a total value of $158,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 756,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,972,400. This trade represents a 2.72% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders acquired 345,000 shares of company stock worth $3,097,250 over the last quarter. 10.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prothena

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PRTA. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Prothena during the first quarter valued at about $230,000. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Prothena by 373.0% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 50,569 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 39,879 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Prothena by 72.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 59,965 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $364,000 after acquiring an additional 25,129 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Prothena by 7,956.6% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 96,196 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $584,000 after acquiring an additional 95,002 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Prothena by 251.8% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 46,047 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 32,959 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.