Prothena (PRTA Quick QuotePRTA - Free Report) shares soared 5.9% in the last trading session to close at $39.42. The move was backed by solid volume with far more shares changing hands than in a normal session. This compares to the stock's 59.2% gain over the past four weeks.

Investors are optimistic about the company’s pipeline progress. It has a license agreement with Roche for the development and commercialization of prasinezumab, which is progressing well.

This drug developer is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.53 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +180.3%. Revenues are expected to be $60.14 million, up 29971.5% from the year-ago quarter.

Earnings and revenue growth expectations certainly give a good sense of the potential strength in a stock, but empirical research shows that trends in earnings estimate revisions are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements.

For Prothena, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 3.4% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. And a positive trend in earnings estimate revision usually translates into price appreciation. So, make sure to keep an eye on PRTA going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank 3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>