Prothena Corporation plc (NASDAQ:PRTA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Prothena Corporation plc (NASDAQ:PRTA) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $23.75.

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Prothena from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Citizens Jmp boosted their price target on shares of Prothena from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $19.00 price target on shares of Prothena in a report on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Prothena from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Prothena in a research report on Friday, May 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prothena

In other Prothena news, major shareholder William P. Scully purchased 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $7.90 per share, for a total transaction of $158,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 756,000 shares in the company, valued at $5,972,400. The trade was a 2.72% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 345,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,097,250. Company insiders own 10.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prothena

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Prothena by 571.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 12,709 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 10,815 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prothena during the 4th quarter valued at $100,000. PDT Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prothena during the 4th quarter valued at $108,000. Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Prothena during the 2nd quarter worth $113,000. Finally, DRW Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prothena during the 4th quarter worth $114,000. 97.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prothena Price Performance

Shares of PRTA opened at $9.69 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $9.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.51. Prothena has a twelve month low of $6.16 and a twelve month high of $11.80. The stock has a market cap of $507.27 million, a PE ratio of -3.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of -0.31.

Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.31) by $0.91. Prothena had a negative net margin of 260.92% and a negative return on equity of 43.44%. The firm had revenue of $51.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.81 million. Analysts expect that Prothena will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.