ProKidney (NASDAQ:PROK) Shares Up 9% – Still a Buy?

ProKidney Corp. (NASDAQ:PROK) rose 9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $2.43 and last traded at $2.41. Approximately 307,101 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 887,243 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.21.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PROK shares. HC Wainwright began coverage on shares of ProKidney in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $12.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of ProKidney in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, ProKidney currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.40.

ProKidney Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $749.07 million, a P/E ratio of -4.53 and a beta of 1.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $2.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.44.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ProKidney

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PROK. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in ProKidney in the 4th quarter worth $270,000. Artia Global Partners LP bought a new position in shares of ProKidney during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,118,000. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new position in shares of ProKidney in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Amundi bought a new stake in shares of ProKidney in the 4th quarter valued at about $610,000. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of ProKidney by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 128,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 23,924 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.59% of the company’s stock.

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.