ProKidney Corp. (NASDAQ:PROK) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

ProKidney Corp. (NASDAQ:PROK) saw a large drop in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,560,000 shares, a drop of 17.3% from the March 31st total of 13,980,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 702,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 16.5 days. Currently, 26.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

ProKidney Stock Down 21.8 %

PROK stock opened at $2.12 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1.70. ProKidney has a one year low of $1.12 and a one year high of $13.51.

ProKidney (NASDAQ:PROK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.10. As a group, equities research analysts predict that ProKidney will post -0.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Darin J. Weber sold 17,238 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.50, for a total transaction of $43,095.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 172,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $431,080. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Darin J. Weber sold 16,438 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.51, for a total transaction of $41,259.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 155,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $389,536.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Darin J. Weber sold 17,238 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.50, for a total transaction of $43,095.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 172,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $431,080. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 118,879 shares of company stock worth $232,392. Corporate insiders own 44.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ProKidney

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ProKidney in the third quarter worth approximately $78,000. Zullo Investment Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ProKidney in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ProKidney in the third quarter worth approximately $216,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of ProKidney by 10,984.7% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 113,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 112,264 shares in the last quarter. 51.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on PROK. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of ProKidney in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $3.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America lowered shares of ProKidney from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd.

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.