Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) Shares Pass Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Prothena shares fell below their 200-day moving average, trading as low as $8.58 versus the $9.37 average, and last changing hands at $8.71.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $23.75 target price, despite one recent downgrade to “Hold.”
• The company beat quarterly EPS expectations, reporting a loss of $0.32 per share versus the projected $0.39 loss, while revenue of $1.01 million exceeded estimates; insiders have also been net buyers over the past 90 days.

Prothena Corporation plc (NASDAQ:PRTA - Get Free Report)'s stock price passed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $9.37 and traded as low as $8.58. Prothena shares last traded at $8.71, with a volume of 248,559 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRTA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Prothena from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Prothena in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Prothena in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings cut Prothena from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prothena has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.75.

Prothena Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $455.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.37, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of -0.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $8.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.37.

Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (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 analysts' expectations of $0.42 million. Prothena had a negative return on equity of 16.45% and a negative net margin of 80.68%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Prothena Corporation plc will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Michael John Isaacs sold 8,386 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.47, for a total transaction of $71,029.42. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 35,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $302,760.15. This trade represents a 19.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder William P. Scully bought 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $7.90 per share, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 345,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,097,250. 10.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Prothena in the first quarter valued at about $230,000. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Prothena by 373.0% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 50,569 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 39,879 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Prothena by 72.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 59,965 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 25,129 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Prothena by 7,956.6% in the 2nd 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 increased its position in Prothena by 251.8% in the 2nd 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. 97.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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