ProKidney (NASDAQ:PROK) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

ProKidney Corp. (NASDAQ:PROK) gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $1.51, but opened at $1.55. ProKidney shares last traded at $1.72, with a volume of 375,998 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

ProKidney Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $1.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $492.91 million, a P/E ratio of -3.07 and a beta of 1.27.

ProKidney (NASDAQ:PROK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14). On average, research analysts predict that ProKidney Corp. will post -0.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ProKidney

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PROK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in ProKidney by 150.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 749,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,439,000 after buying an additional 450,548 shares in the last quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of ProKidney by 32.1% in the 3rd quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 12,341,266 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,695,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of ProKidney during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $63,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in ProKidney by 54.6% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 37,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 13,415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in ProKidney in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors own 51.59% of the company’s stock.

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.