ProKidney (NASDAQ:PROK) Trading Up 5.6% – Here’s What Happened

ProKidney Corp. (NASDAQ:PROK) rose 5.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $1.78 and last traded at $1.7950. Approximately 79,790 shares were traded during 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 brokerages have recently weighed in on PROK. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of ProKidney in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded ProKidney to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered ProKidney from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 price target on shares of ProKidney in a research report on Monday, May 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ProKidney has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $7.40.

ProKidney Trading Up 7.4%

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $1.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.02. The firm has a market cap of $551.26 million, a PE ratio of -3.44 and a beta of 1.64.

ProKidney (NASDAQ:PROK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 15th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share 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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that ProKidney Corp. will post -0.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of ProKidney

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of ProKidney during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SummitTX Capital L.P. bought a new position in ProKidney during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in ProKidney during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew 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 worth $46,000 after buying an additional 27,098 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of ProKidney in the 4th quarter worth $65,000. 51.59% of the stock is 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.