Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) Shares Up 8.7% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Prothena Corporation plc (NASDAQ:PRTA) shot up 8.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $9.42 and last traded at $9.4250. 189,777 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 459,746 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.67.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRTA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citizens Jmp set a $19.00 price objective on Prothena in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Prothena in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $19.00 price target on shares of Prothena in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Prothena in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Prothena from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.00.

Prothena Stock Up 8.5%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $9.19 and a 200-day moving average of $9.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $506.54 million, a PE ratio of -2.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of -0.24.

Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.44) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.45) by $0.01. Prothena had a negative return on equity of 62.53% and a negative net margin of 2,520.57%.The business had revenue of $0.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.67 million. Equities research analysts expect that Prothena Corporation plc will post -4.04 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prothena

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PRTA. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Prothena by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 19,388 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $189,000 after acquiring an additional 1,014 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in Prothena by 13.1% during the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 12,569 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 1,456 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Prothena by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 35,482 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,709 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Prothena by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 81,515 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $779,000 after purchasing an additional 2,968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Prothena by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 25,679 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 3,236 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.08% of the company’s stock.

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.