ProKidney (NASDAQ:PROK) Shares Down 7.3% – Should You Sell?

Shares of ProKidney Corp. (NASDAQ:PROK) were down 7.3% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $2.36 and last traded at $2.3450. Approximately 316,306 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 4,284,937 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.53.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PROK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. HC Wainwright assumed coverage on shares of ProKidney in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $12.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of ProKidney in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four 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. According to MarketBeat.com, ProKidney currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.40.

ProKidney Stock Down 11.3%

The company has a market cap of $675.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.08 and a beta of 1.79. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $2.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.46.

ProKidney (NASDAQ:PROK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12). The company had revenue of $0.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.04 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that ProKidney Corp. will post -0.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ProKidney news, Director Brian Jg Pereira sold 502,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.37, for a total transaction of $1,190,062.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 41.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ProKidney

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Zullo Investment Group Inc. purchased a new stake in ProKidney during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in shares of ProKidney in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in ProKidney by 106.4% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 52,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 27,098 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in ProKidney by 49.4% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 86,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 28,546 shares during the period. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in ProKidney during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $158,000. 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.