Insider Selling: Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) General Counsel Sells $71,029.42 in Stock

Prothena Corporation plc (NASDAQ:PRTA) General Counsel Michael John Isaacs sold 8,386 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.47, for a total transaction of $71,029.42. Following the sale, the general counsel directly 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 the SEC website.

Prothena Stock Down 1.8%

Prothena stock traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $8.41. The stock had a trading volume of 502,233 shares, compared to its average volume of 535,030. The stock has a market capitalization of $440.26 million, a P/E ratio of -2.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of -0.31. Prothena Corporation plc has a 12-month low of $6.61 and a 12-month high of $11.80. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $9.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.43.

Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.31) by $0.91. Prothena had a negative net margin of 260.92% and a negative return on equity of 43.44%. The firm had revenue of $51.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.81 million. On average, research analysts expect that Prothena Corporation plc will post 0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prothena

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Prothena during the first quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of Prothena by 373.0% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 50,569 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 39,879 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Prothena by 72.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 59,965 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 25,129 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Prothena by 7,956.6% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 96,196 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $584,000 after purchasing an additional 95,002 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Prothena by 251.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 46,047 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 32,959 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Prothena from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Prothena in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Prothena from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Prothena in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Citizens Jmp lifted their price objective on Prothena from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.75.

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.