ProKidney (NASDAQ:PROK) Shares Up 7.6% – Time to Buy?

ProKidney Corp. (NASDAQ:PROK) traded up 7.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $2.09 and last traded at $2.0650. Approximately 700,206 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 31% from the average session volume of 1,021,663 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.92.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PROK has been the topic of several analyst reports. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 target price on shares of ProKidney in a report on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of ProKidney from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of ProKidney from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.00.

ProKidney Trading Up 7.6%

The company’s fifty day moving average is $1.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.84. The stock has a market cap of $624.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.75 and a beta of 1.70.

ProKidney (NASDAQ:PROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The company reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $0.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.19 million. Analysts predict that ProKidney Corp. will post -0.51 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at ProKidney

In other news, Director Brian Pereira sold 222,948 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.42, for a total transaction of $316,586.16. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 54,103 shares in the company, valued at $76,826.26. The trade was a 80.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 757,164 shares of company stock worth $1,067,315. 39.83% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ProKidney

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new stake in ProKidney in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,734,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ProKidney by 14.6% in the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,847,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,769,000 after acquiring an additional 236,056 shares during the period. Artia Global Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of ProKidney in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,118,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of ProKidney by 3,024.9% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,668,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $988,000 after buying an additional 1,615,243 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of ProKidney by 39.6% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,250,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,239,000 after acquiring an additional 355,089 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 51.59% of the company’s stock.

About ProKidney

ProKidney, Inc (NASDAQ: PROK) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing cell-based therapies for kidney diseases. The company’s research and development activities center on harnessing human-derived proximal tubule cells to address conditions such as acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD). By targeting the underlying cellular mechanisms of renal injury and dysfunction, ProKidney aims to offer novel regenerative medicine approaches that go beyond current supportive care options.

ProKidney’s lead programs utilize proprietary methods for isolating and expanding renal epithelial cells to create injectable therapeutic products.