ProKidney Corp. (NASDAQ:PROK) Short Interest Down 33.7% in July

Key Points

• ProKidney Corp. experienced a 33.7% decrease in short interest in July, with current short interest totaling 7,570,000 shares, representing 7.8% of the company's total shares.
• Financial analysts are mixed on ProKidney, with Citigroup raising its price target to $9.00 and Bank of America cutting its target from $3.00 to $1.00, resulting in a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of $6.25.
• ProKidney's stock traded down 8.3% on the market, reaching $2.33 with a market capitalization of approximately $681.99 million.

ProKidney Corp. (NASDAQ:PROK - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 7,570,000 shares, adropof33.7% from the July 15th total of 11,410,000 shares. Currently,7.8% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 12,730,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.6 days. Based on an average trading volume of 12,730,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.6 days. Currently,7.8% of the company's shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PROK shares. Bank of America cut ProKidney from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $3.00 to $1.00 in a report on Monday, June 30th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $9.00 target price (up previously from $6.00) on shares of ProKidney in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded ProKidney from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $7.00 target price (up previously from $6.00) on shares of ProKidney in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Zacks Research cut ProKidney from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $6.25.

Insider Transactions at ProKidney

In related news, insider Darin J. Weber sold 103,480 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.02, for a total value of $312,509.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 41.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ProKidney

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in ProKidney in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in 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 buying an additional 27,098 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in ProKidney by 57.3% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 30,879 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 11,250 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in ProKidney by 49.4% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 86,337 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 28,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in ProKidney in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.59% of the company's stock.

ProKidney Trading Up 3.9%

Shares of NASDAQ PROK traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $2.41. 1,575,692 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,535,115. The firm has a market capitalization of $709.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.23 and a beta of 1.76. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1.42. ProKidney has a twelve month low of $0.46 and a twelve month high of $7.13.

ProKidney (NASDAQ:PROK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.14) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $0.22 million for the quarter. Equities research analysts predict that ProKidney will post -0.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.