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

ProKidney Corp. (NASDAQ:PROK) was up 7.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $2.09 and last traded at $2.0650. Approximately 700,206 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 31% from the average daily 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 research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of ProKidney from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 target price on shares of ProKidney in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered ProKidney from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.00.

ProKidney Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $1.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.84. The stock has a market cap of $607.67 million, a P/E ratio of -3.65 and a beta of 1.70.

ProKidney (NASDAQ:PROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The company reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14) by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $0.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.19 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that ProKidney Corp. will post -0.51 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ProKidney news, Director Brian Pereira sold 222,948 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $76,826.26. This represents a 80.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders sold 757,164 shares of company stock worth $1,067,315. Insiders own 39.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ProKidney

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of ProKidney by 106.4% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 52,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 27,098 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of ProKidney by 3,024.9% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,668,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $988,000 after purchasing an additional 1,615,243 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in ProKidney in the second quarter valued at about $274,000. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in ProKidney in the second quarter valued at about $350,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in ProKidney by 12.4% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 846,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,000 after buying an additional 93,322 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.