Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) Trading Down 2.6% - Time to Sell?

Prothena Co. plc (NASDAQ:PRTA - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 2.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $14.44 and last traded at $14.49. 47,687 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 586,415 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PRTA shares. StockNews.com cut shares of 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 report on Friday, December 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Prothena in a report on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Prothena from $26.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Chardan Capital initiated coverage on Prothena in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $52.29.

Prothena Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $745.25 million, a P/E ratio of -5.58 and a beta of 0.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $15.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.76.

Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.22 million. Prothena had a negative return on equity of 24.19% and a negative net margin of 98.86%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 98.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Prothena Co. plc will post -2.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased 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 valued at $69,911,000 after purchasing an additional 539,359 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew 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 worth $8,812,000 after buying an additional 483,673 shares during the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 464,000 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Prothena by 110.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 95,222 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,592,000 after buying an additional 49,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Prothena in the third quarter worth $816,000. 97.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.