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

Shares of Prothena Co. plc (NASDAQ:PRTA) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $11.70 and last traded at $12.16, with a volume of 40650 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.38.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on PRTA. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Prothena in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America dropped their price target on Prothena from $26.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Prothena from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Prothena in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Prothena in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.00.

Prothena Stock Up 3.4 %

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $14.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $653.46 million, a P/E ratio of -5.28 and a beta of -0.02.

Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The biotechnology company reported ($1.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.02) by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $2.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.53 million. Prothena had a negative return on equity of 22.67% and a negative net margin of 90.50%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Prothena Co. plc will post -4.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prothena

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Prothena by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 17,531 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 739 shares during the last quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC raised its stake in Prothena by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC now owns 5,148 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 833 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Prothena by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,409 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Prothena by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 67,115 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $930,000 after buying an additional 1,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Prothena by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 27,269 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 1,551 shares during the last quarter. 97.08% of the stock is currently 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.