Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) Stock Price Down 9% – Here’s Why

Prothena Co. plc (NASDAQ:PRTA) shares traded down 9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $12.84 and last traded at $12.88. 180,595 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 420,744 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.16.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Prothena from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Prothena from $26.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Prothena in a report on Monday, September 30th. Chardan Capital initiated coverage on shares of Prothena in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $48.00 target price (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Prothena in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prothena has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.50.

Prothena Trading Down 8.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $695.75 million, a P/E ratio of -5.21 and a beta of 0.10. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $14.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.47.

Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.10) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.18) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $0.97 million during 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 was down 98.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Prothena Co. plc will post -2.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prothena

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Prothena by 14.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,178,788 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $69,911,000 after buying an additional 539,359 shares during the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Prothena by 42.3% during the 2nd quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 1,560,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $32,198,000 after acquiring an additional 464,000 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prothena by 1,122.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 526,748 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $8,812,000 after purchasing an additional 483,673 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its position in shares of Prothena by 25.8% in the 2nd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 193,763 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,999,000 after purchasing an additional 39,771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Prothena by 13.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 165,423 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,414,000 after purchasing an additional 19,578 shares during the period. 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.