Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) Trading Up 5.2% – Still a Buy?

Prothena Corporation plc (NASDAQ:PRTA)’s stock price rose 5.2% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $9.62 and last traded at $9.63. 63,210 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 509,417 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Prothena in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Citizens Jmp boosted their price target on shares of Prothena from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $19.00 price target on shares of Prothena in a report on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Prothena from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Prothena from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Prothena has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.75.

Prothena Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $492.09 million, a P/E ratio of -3.33, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of -0.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $9.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.54.

Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.31) by $0.91. The company had revenue of $51.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.81 million. Prothena had a negative net margin of 260.92% and a negative return on equity of 43.44%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Prothena Corporation plc will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prothena

In related news, major shareholder William P. Scully purchased 125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $8.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,021,250.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 1,061,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,668,370. This trade represents a 13.35% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 345,000 shares of company stock worth $3,097,250. 10.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prothena

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

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.