Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) Stock: Insider William Scully Buys 10,000 Shares

Prothena Corporation plc (NASDAQ:PRTA) major shareholder William Scully acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.46 per share, for a total transaction of $84,600.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 1,037,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,773,020. This trade represents a 0.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Prothena Stock Performance

Shares of PRTA traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $8.50. 358,337 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 512,088. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $8.90 and its 200 day moving average is $9.32. Prothena Corporation plc has a 1-year low of $7.73 and a 1-year high of $11.80. The stock has a market cap of $444.98 million, a P/E ratio of -10.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of -0.29.

Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) last released its earnings results 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. Prothena had a negative return on equity of 16.45% and a negative net margin of 80.68%. The business had revenue of $1.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.42 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Prothena Corporation plc will post 0.08 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Prothena in a report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Prothena in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Prothena from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Prothena from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.57.

Institutional Trading of Prothena

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Prothena by 36.0% during the 1st quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 5,000,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,322,669 shares in the last quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC raised its position in Prothena by 8.5% in the first quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 1,581,443 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $15,372,000 after purchasing an additional 123,679 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Prothena by 39.5% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 607,515 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,905,000 after purchasing an additional 172,000 shares in the last quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc raised its position in Prothena by 93.0% in the first quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 207,403 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,016,000 after purchasing an additional 99,924 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Penbrook Management LLC acquired a new position in Prothena in the first quarter worth about $2,641,000. 97.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Prothena

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.