Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) Stock Price Passes Below 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Prothena Corporation plc (NASDAQ:PRTA)’s stock price crossed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $9.40 and traded as low as $9.10. Prothena shares last traded at $9.35, with a volume of 335,149 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on PRTA. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Prothena in a research note on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Prothena in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Prothena from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Citizens Jmp raised their target price on shares of Prothena from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Prothena in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.57.

Prothena Stock Down 0.1%

The stock has a market capitalization of $502.82 million, a P/E ratio of -11.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of -0.33. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.40.

Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.39) by $0.07. Prothena had a negative return on equity of 16.45% and a negative net margin of 80.68%.The company had revenue of $1.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.42 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Prothena Corporation plc will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prothena news, General Counsel Michael John Isaacs sold 8,386 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were 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 owned 35,745 shares in the company, valued at $302,760.15. This trade represents a 19.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal 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 transaction of $64,897.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 55,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $472,473.54. This trade represents a 12.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 245,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,084,250. 10.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rubric Capital Management LP raised its stake in Prothena by 36.0% in the 1st quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 5,000,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,322,669 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Prothena by 151.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,267,802 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $21,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,366,764 shares during the period. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Prothena by 8.5% in the first quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 1,581,443 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $15,372,000 after purchasing an additional 123,679 shares during the last quarter. Palo Alto Investors LP raised its position in shares of Prothena by 3.9% in the third quarter. Palo Alto Investors LP now owns 1,324,028 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $12,923,000 after purchasing an additional 49,275 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prothena by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,063,069 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $10,154,000 after buying an additional 43,586 shares during the last quarter. 97.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Prothena Company Profile

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.