ProKidney (NASDAQ:PROK) Trading 6% Higher - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• ProKidney shares rose 6% to approximately $1.85, though trading volume was 71% below the average. The stock has a market capitalization of about $555 million and remains below its 200-day moving average.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a $12.00 target price. However, ProKidney missed quarterly expectations, reporting a $0.15 loss per share versus a $0.14 expected loss and revenue below estimates.
• Insider selling is a notable risk: insiders sold 757,164 shares worth roughly $1.07 million over the past 90 days, including a director’s sale that reduced his position by more than 80%. Institutional investors, meanwhile, own 51.59% of the stock.

ProKidney Corp. (NASDAQ:PROK - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 6% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $1.84 and last traded at $1.8450. Approximately 299,469 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 1,031,457 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.74.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised shares of ProKidney from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, ProKidney has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $12.00.

ProKidney Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $554.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.34 and a beta of 1.70. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $1.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.82.

ProKidney (NASDAQ:PROK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $0.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.19 million. As a group, analysts forecast that ProKidney Corp. will post -0.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ProKidney news, Director Brian Pereira sold 222,948 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.42, for a total transaction of $316,586.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 54,103 shares in the company, valued at $76,826.26. This trade represents a 80.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 757,164 shares of company stock worth $1,067,315. 39.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ProKidney

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Artia Global Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of ProKidney in the fourth quarter worth $4,118,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in ProKidney by 14.6% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of ProKidney by 39.6% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,250,794 shares of the company's stock worth $2,239,000 after purchasing an additional 355,089 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of ProKidney by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 753,412 shares of the company's stock worth $1,349,000 after purchasing an additional 47,268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in shares of ProKidney by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 291,708 shares of the company's stock valued at $522,000 after purchasing an additional 19,466 shares in the last quarter. 51.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About ProKidney

ProKidney Corporation NASDAQ: PROK is a biotechnology company focused on developing cell therapies for chronic kidney disease (CKD). Its lead investigational product, rilparencel, is an autologous cell therapy designed to use a patient's own kidney cells to support kidney function and potentially delay or reduce the need for dialysis or kidney transplantation.

Rilparencel, formerly known as REACT, is being evaluated as a minimally invasive treatment intended for patients with advanced CKD.

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