Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) Issues Earnings Results

Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The biotechnology company reported ($0.36) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.39) by $0.03, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $1.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.42 million. Prothena had a negative return on equity of 43.44% and a negative net margin of 260.92%.

Prothena Stock Performance

Shares of Prothena stock traded up $0.09 on Thursday, hitting $8.58. 418,636 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 565,116. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $449.16 million, a PE ratio of -3.04, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of -0.30. Prothena has a 1 year low of $7.39 and a 1 year high of $11.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Michael John Isaacs sold 8,386 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.47, for a total value of $71,029.42. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 35,745 shares in the company, valued at $302,760.15. This represents a 19.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder William P. Scully bought 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was bought 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 owned 756,000 shares in the company, valued at $5,972,400. This trade represents a 2.72% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders acquired a total of 345,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,097,250 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 10.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Prothena

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its position in shares of Prothena by 247.2% during the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 54,881 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $524,000 after buying an additional 39,073 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Prothena by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 25,679 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 3,236 shares during the period. Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Prothena by 103.1% in the fourth quarter. Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC now owns 58,853 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 29,878 shares in the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prothena in the fourth quarter worth $225,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its position in shares of Prothena by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 31,090 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 3,875 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on PRTA shares. Citizens Jmp lifted their price objective on Prothena from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Prothena in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings raised Prothena from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Prothena in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Prothena from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prothena currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.75.

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.