Key Points
- Major shareholder William Scully bought 90,000 Prothena shares at an average of $8.57, investing $771,300 and increasing his ownership by 20.5% to 529,000 shares.
- Prothena shares rose 2.7% to open at $8.84, while the clinical-stage biotechnology company reported a quarterly loss of $0.32 per share—better than analysts’ expected $0.39 loss—and revenue of $1.01 million.
- Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $24.57, although some firms recently downgraded the stock; institutional investors own 97.08% of shares.
Prothena Corporation plc (NASDAQ:PRTA - Get Free Report) major shareholder William Scully bought 90,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.57 per share, for a total transaction of $771,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 529,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,533,530. The trade was a 20.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company's shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.
Prothena Trading Up 2.7%
Shares of NASDAQ:PRTA opened at $8.84 on Friday. Prothena Corporation plc has a twelve month low of $7.73 and a twelve month high of $11.80. The company's 50 day moving average is $8.90 and its 200 day moving average is $9.33. The company has a market cap of $462.80 million, a PE ratio of -10.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of -0.29.
Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.39) by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.42 million. Prothena had a negative net margin of 80.68% and a negative return on equity of 16.45%. Equities research analysts predict that Prothena Corporation plc will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
PRTA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Prothena from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Prothena from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Prothena in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Prothena in a report on Friday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $24.57.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on PRTA
Institutional Trading of Prothena
A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Prothena by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 90,795 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $889,000 after acquiring an additional 2,251 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Prothena by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 136,322 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,325,000 after purchasing an additional 3,622 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Prothena by 179.1% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,704 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 3,660 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Prothena by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 782,603 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $7,606,000 after purchasing an additional 7,396 shares during the period. Finally, CHICAGO TRUST Co NA acquired a new position in Prothena in the 1st quarter worth about $146,000. 97.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About Prothena
(
Get Free Report)
Prothena Corporation plc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing therapies for diseases caused by protein misfolding or abnormal protein accumulation. Its research programs target neurological and systemic disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and transthyretin amyloidosis.
The company's pipeline has included PRX012, an investigational next-generation antibody targeting amyloid beta for Alzheimer's disease; prasinezumab, an anti-alpha-synuclein antibody being developed for Parkinson's disease through a collaboration with Roche; and birtamimab, an investigational treatment designed to target misfolded light chains associated with AL amyloidosis.
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