Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.07 EPS

Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.39) by $0.07, Zacks reports. Prothena had a negative net margin of 260.92% and a negative return on equity of 43.44%. The business had revenue of $1.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.42 million.

Prothena Trading Up 2.1%

NASDAQ PRTA traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $8.76. 481,852 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 527,520. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $8.93 and a 200-day moving average of $9.41. Prothena has a one year low of $7.39 and a one year high of $11.80. The stock has a market cap of $458.61 million, a PE ratio of -3.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of -0.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prothena

In other news, General Counsel Michael John Isaacs sold 8,386 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.47, for a total value of $71,029.42. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 35,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $302,760.15. This trade represents a 19.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Anne Evans Kingston sold 7,662 shares of Prothena stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.47, for a total value of $64,897.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 55,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $472,473.54. This represents a 12.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 345,000 shares of company stock worth $3,097,250. 10.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prothena

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Prothena by 571.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 12,709 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 10,815 shares during the last quarter. PDT Partners LLC bought a new position in Prothena in the 4th quarter worth approximately $108,000. Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new position in Prothena in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $113,000. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in Prothena during the 4th quarter worth $114,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in Prothena by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 12,569 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 1,456 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PRTA. Wall Street Zen lowered Prothena from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Prothena in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Citizens Jmp boosted their price target on Prothena from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Prothena from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Prothena in a report on Friday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.75.

About Prothena

Prothena Corporation plc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel therapies for neurodegenerative and rare diseases driven by misfolded proteins. The company’s research focuses on immunotherapies and small molecules designed to target and clear disease-causing protein aggregates. Prothena leverages proprietary protein engineering and antibody discovery platforms to advance candidates through preclinical and clinical stages.

The company’s most advanced program is an antibody targeting aggregated alpha-synuclein for the potential treatment of Parkinson’s disease, currently in mid-stage clinical trials.