Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) Shares Up 5.9% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Prothena shares rose 5.9% to $11.43 on Tuesday, but trading volume was about 163,735 shares—roughly 67% below the stock's average daily volume.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of Hold with an average price target of $21.67, while individual targets and ratings vary (e.g., RBC $12, Stifel $19; 1 Strong Buy, 4 Buy, 4 Hold, 2 Sell).
• The company remains unprofitable despite a small EPS beat (reported -$0.44 vs. -$0.45 expected) and minimal revenue ($0.02M); Prothena is a clinical‑stage biotech (market cap ≈ $619.6M) developing an anti‑alpha‑synuclein therapy for Parkinson’s disease.

Prothena Corporation plc (NASDAQ:PRTA - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 5.9% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $11.23 and last traded at $11.4250. Approximately 163,735 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 490,533 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Prothena from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Prothena in a report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Prothena in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $19.00 target price on shares of Prothena in a research note on Friday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $21.67.

Prothena Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $619.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.54, a PEG ratio of 0.38 and a beta of -0.33. The business's 50-day moving average is $9.68 and its 200-day moving average is $9.77.

Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.44) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.45) by $0.01. Prothena had a negative net margin of 2,520.57% and a negative return on equity of 65.89%. The firm had revenue of $0.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $0.67 million. Equities research analysts expect that Prothena Corporation plc will post 0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prothena

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Prothena by 479.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 735,765 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $7,181,000 after buying an additional 608,814 shares in the last quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc grew its holdings in Prothena by 88.1% during the 4th quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 107,479 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,026,000 after acquiring an additional 50,350 shares during the last quarter. Penbrook Management LLC acquired a new stake in Prothena in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,641,000. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Prothena in the 4th quarter valued at about $414,000. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Prothena by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 426,360 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $4,072,000 after acquiring an additional 25,513 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.