ProKidney (NASDAQ:PROK) Shares Up 5.6% – Time to Buy?

ProKidney Corp. (NASDAQ:PROK)’s stock price was up 5.6% on Friday . The company traded as high as $1.78 and last traded at $1.7950. Approximately 79,790 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 888,708 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.70.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PROK shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of ProKidney from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of ProKidney in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised ProKidney to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 price target on shares of ProKidney in a research note on Monday, May 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $7.40.

ProKidney Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.02. The firm has a market cap of $551.26 million, a P/E ratio of -3.44 and a beta of 1.64.

ProKidney (NASDAQ:PROK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 15th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $0.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.10 million. Research analysts predict that ProKidney Corp. will post -0.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ProKidney

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of ProKidney in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. SummitTX Capital L.P. bought a new position in ProKidney in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new position in ProKidney in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in ProKidney by 106.4% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 52,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 27,098 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of ProKidney during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. 51.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.