Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) Hits New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Prothena Co. plc (NASDAQ:PRTA) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $13.17 and last traded at $13.22, with a volume of 270041 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.81.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRTA has been the topic of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Prothena in a report on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Prothena from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Prothena from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective on shares of Prothena in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.83.

Prothena Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $15.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $688.23 million, a PE ratio of -5.16 and a beta of 0.09.

Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.10) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.18) by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $0.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 million. Prothena had a negative return on equity of 24.19% and a negative net margin of 98.86%. The company’s revenue was down 98.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Prothena Co. plc will post -2.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prothena

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Prothena by 226.4% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 54,572 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,126,000 after buying an additional 37,852 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Prothena by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 165,423 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,414,000 after acquiring an additional 19,578 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Prothena by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 10,236 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Prothena by 182.1% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,337 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 863 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Prothena by 98.7% in the 2nd quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 20,129 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the period. 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.