Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) Shares Up 6.8% – Time to Buy?

Prothena Co. plc (NASDAQ:PRTA)’s share price traded up 6.8% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $13.96 and last traded at $14.07. 234,276 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the average session volume of 431,334 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.18.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PRTA shares. StockNews.com lowered Prothena from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Chardan Capital started coverage on shares of Prothena in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Bank of America dropped their price target on Prothena from $26.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Prothena in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $48.00 price target (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Prothena in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prothena has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.50.

Prothena Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $749.36 million, a PE ratio of -5.63 and a beta of 0.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $14.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.21.

Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.10) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.18) by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $0.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 million. Prothena had a negative net margin of 98.86% and a negative return on equity of 24.19%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 98.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Prothena Co. plc will post -2.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Prothena

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PRTA. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Prothena by 63.7% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,344 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $173,000 after acquiring an additional 4,026 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Prothena in the third quarter worth about $210,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Prothena during the 3rd quarter worth about $260,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Prothena by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 17,531 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning bought a new position in Prothena in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $350,000. 97.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Prothena

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.