ProKidney (NASDAQ:PROK) Trading Up 8.5% – Still a Buy?

ProKidney Corp. (NASDAQ:PROK)’s share price shot up 8.5% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $1.80 and last traded at $1.79. 106,581 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 704,867 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.65.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Guggenheim initiated coverage on ProKidney in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $6.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of ProKidney in a report on Monday, September 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on ProKidney from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.50.

ProKidney Trading Up 5.5 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $504.03 million, a P/E ratio of -3.19 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $1.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.38.

ProKidney (NASDAQ:PROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14). Research analysts anticipate that ProKidney Corp. will post -0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at ProKidney

In other news, insider Darin J. Weber sold 16,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.50, for a total value of $41,030.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 103,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,700. This trade represents a 13.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 41.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ProKidney

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PROK. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in ProKidney by 44.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 179,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $441,000 after purchasing an additional 55,266 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in ProKidney by 8.8% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 76,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,000 after buying an additional 6,181 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of ProKidney during the 2nd quarter worth about $124,000. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ProKidney during the 2nd quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in ProKidney in the second quarter valued at $60,000. 51.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About ProKidney

ProKidney Corp., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, provides transformative proprietary cell therapy platform for treating various chronic kidney diseases in the United States. The company's lead product is Renal Autologous Cell Therapy (REACT), an autologous homologous cell admixture, which has completed Phase I clinical trial for REACT in patients with congenital anomalies of the Kidney and Urinary Tract (CAKUT), as well as in Phase III and Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of moderate to severe diabetic kidney disease.