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

Shares of ProKidney Corp. (NASDAQ:PROK) gapped up prior to trading 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of ProKidney from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on ProKidney in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $6.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on ProKidney in a research report on Monday, September 30th. They set a “neutral” rating 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4.50.

ProKidney Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $1.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $519.16 million, a P/E ratio of -3.24 and a beta of 1.27.

ProKidney (NASDAQ:PROK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14). As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that ProKidney Corp. will post -0.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ProKidney

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in ProKidney by 150.6% during 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 during the period. Suvretta Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in ProKidney by 32.1% in the 3rd quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 12,341,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,695,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000,000 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in ProKidney by 54.6% during the third 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. Castleview Partners LLC acquired a new stake in ProKidney in the third quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ProKidney in the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.59% of the company’s stock.

ProKidney Company Profile

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.