Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) Stock Price Crosses Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• Prothena Corporation's stock has fallen below its two hundred day moving average of $9.24, trading as low as $8.32 on Thursday, with the last recorded price at $8.56.
• Recent earnings report showed Prothena had an EPS of ($1.86), missing estimates, and projections indicate a negative earnings outlook for the current fiscal year with an expected -4.04 EPS.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Prothena, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price averaging $30.25, despite significant downgrades from firms such as Jefferies, which set a target price of $6.00.

Prothena Corporation plc (NASDAQ:PRTA - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $9.24 and traded as low as $8.32. Prothena shares last traded at $8.56, with a volume of 854,179 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on PRTA. JMP Securities decreased their target price on shares of Prothena from $78.00 to $29.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Prothena from $110.00 to $81.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Prothena from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Chardan Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Prothena in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Prothena from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $6.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.25.

Prothena Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $472.09 million, a PE ratio of -1.55 and a beta of -0.03. The stock's 50 day moving average is $6.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.16.

Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.86) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.11) by ($0.75). The firm had revenue of $4.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.36 million. Prothena had a negative net margin of 2,929.30% and a negative return on equity of 62.17%. Equities research analysts expect that Prothena Corporation plc will post -4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prothena

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prothena in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,176,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Prothena by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,130,876 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $71,063,000 after buying an additional 952,088 shares in the last quarter. Rangeley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Prothena in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,342,000. Boxer Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prothena in the 4th quarter worth $9,556,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Prothena by 116.2% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,181,087 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $7,169,000 after acquiring an additional 634,832 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.08% of the company's stock.

About Prothena

Prothena Corporation plc, a late-stage clinical biotechnology company, focuses on discovery and development of novel therapies to treat diseases caused by protein dysregulation in the United States. The company is involved in developing birtamimab, an investigational humanized antibody that is in Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of AL amyloidosis; Prasinezumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody, for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and other related synucleinopathies which is in Phase IIb clinical trial; NNC6019 that is in Phase lI clinical trial for the treatment of ATTR amyloidosis; and BMS-986446 and PRX012, which is in Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.