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

Prothena Co. plc (NASDAQ:PRTA)’s share price fell 9% on Friday . The company 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Prothena Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $702.21 million, a P/E ratio of -5.26 and a beta of 0.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $14.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.39.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prothena

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Prothena by 110.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 95,222 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,592,000 after purchasing an additional 49,916 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Prothena by 1,122.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 526,748 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $8,812,000 after buying an additional 483,673 shares in the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC grew its position in Prothena by 42.3% in the second quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 1,560,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $32,198,000 after buying an additional 464,000 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new position in shares of Prothena in the second quarter valued at $905,000. Finally, Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prothena during the 3rd quarter valued at $816,000. 97.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.