Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen lowered Aura Minerals’ rating from “strong buy” to “buy.” Across analysts, the stock carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $86.95.
• Aura reported quarterly earnings of $2.57 per share on revenue of $335.97 million; analysts expect full-year EPS of $6.11.
• Insiders have sold substantially more shares than they bought over the past 90 days: 1.51 million shares sold versus 263,011 purchased. A director also sold 166,000 shares, leaving him with 1,041 shares.

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Aura Minerals from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Aura Minerals from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Aura Minerals in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Santander downgraded shares of Aura Minerals from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Aura Minerals from $104.50 to $91.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aura Minerals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.95.

Aura Minerals Trading Up 9.2%

NASDAQ:AUGO opened at $77.82 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $82.50 and its 200 day moving average is $75.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.52 billion, a PE ratio of 15.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Aura Minerals has a 12 month low of $33.16 and a 12 month high of $110.32.

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter. Aura Minerals had a return on equity of 117.58% and a net margin of 30.01%. The business had revenue of $335.97 million during the quarter. Sell-side analysts expect that Aura Minerals will post 6.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aura Minerals news, Director Mauad Sousa sold 166,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.65, for a total value of $15,047,900.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $94,366.65. This represents a 99.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 263,011 shares of company stock worth $22,662,070 and have sold 1,508,065 shares worth $129,112,752.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aura Minerals

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Aura Minerals by 42.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 977,212 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,740,000 after purchasing an additional 291,623 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in Aura Minerals during the 1st quarter valued at about $50,378,000. Robeco Schweiz AG increased its stake in Aura Minerals by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG now owns 473,190 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,231,000 after purchasing an additional 66,190 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Aura Minerals by 125.1% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 321,582 shares of the company's stock worth $26,241,000 after buying an additional 178,730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Andra AP fonden purchased a new position in Aura Minerals in the second quarter worth about $10,550,000.

About Aura Minerals

Aura Minerals Inc is a mining company focused on the exploration, development, and operation of gold, copper, and other precious and base-metal properties in the Americas. The company's activities span the full mining life cycle, including resource evaluation, mine development, production, processing, and exploration for additional mineral deposits.

Aura's portfolio has included the Aranzazu copper-gold-silver mine in Zacatecas, Mexico; the San Andrés gold mine in Honduras; and gold operations in Brazil, including the Almas and São Francisco mines.

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