Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) Reaches New 1-Year Low at $21.31

Shares of Prothena Co. plc (NASDAQ:PRTA) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $21.31 and last traded at $21.96, with a volume of 17476 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.99.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on PRTA. JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of Prothena from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $38.00 price target (down from $68.00) on shares of Prothena in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Prothena in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Prothena from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 19th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Prothena in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Prothena currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.63.

Prothena Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $26.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.40. The company has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.85 and a beta of 0.21.

Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.26) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by ($0.03). Prothena had a negative return on equity of 24.84% and a negative net margin of 160.91%. The company had revenue of $0.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.15 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.12 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 99.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Prothena Co. plc will post -4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Karin L. Walker sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.00, for a total transaction of $170,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 28.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Middle East FZE purchased a new position in Prothena in the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. KBC Group NV purchased a new position in Prothena in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Prothena by 99.0% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,375 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Prothena in the 3rd quarter valued at $74,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Prothena by 265.9% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,544 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,122 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.08% of the company’s stock.

Prothena Company Profile

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.