Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) Trading Down 8.1% – Should You Sell?

Prothena Co. plc (NASDAQ:PRTA)’s stock price fell 8.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $13.68 and last traded at $13.42. 316,550 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 19% from the average session volume of 388,566 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.60.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRTA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Prothena from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Prothena from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Prothena in a research note on Friday, February 21st. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Prothena in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Prothena from $94.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prothena presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.00.

Prothena Stock Down 5.8 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $740.12 million, a PE ratio of -5.98 and a beta of -0.02.

Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.08) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.02) by ($0.06). Prothena had a negative net margin of 90.50% and a negative return on equity of 22.67%. The company had revenue of $2.12 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.53 million. On average, analysts predict that Prothena Co. plc will post -4.04 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prothena

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRTA. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in shares of Prothena by 265.4% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 38,394 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $532,000 after purchasing an additional 27,887 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Prothena by 24.8% during the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 77,672 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,076,000 after acquiring an additional 15,442 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Prothena by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 14,524 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 3,312 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Prothena by 90.7% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 77,430 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,072,000 after acquiring an additional 36,824 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Prothena by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 123,005 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,704,000 after purchasing an additional 10,467 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.08% of the company’s stock.

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.