Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ:AUR) Given Buy Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Key Points

• Needham reaffirmed a “Buy” rating on Aurora Innovation and set a $13 price target, implying approximately 105.7% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: Aurora has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $12.89, although ratings range from “Strong Sell” to “Overweight.”
• Aurora reported a quarterly loss of $0.14 per share, missing estimates, while revenue reached $2 million and doubled year over year. Shares opened at $6.32, and insiders sold roughly 6.39 million shares worth $44.8 million over the prior 90 days.

Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ:AUR - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $13.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's target price would suggest a potential upside of 105.70% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on AUR. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Aurora Innovation from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Aurora Innovation from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Aurora Innovation in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Aurora Innovation from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Aurora Innovation in a research report on Thursday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $12.89.

Aurora Innovation Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AUR opened at $6.32 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $6.33 and its 200 day moving average is $5.97. The company has a market cap of $12.67 billion, a PE ratio of -13.45 and a beta of 2.63. Aurora Innovation has a 1 year low of $3.60 and a 1 year high of $8.56.

Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ:AUR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by ($0.02). Aurora Innovation had a negative return on equity of 43.94% and a negative net margin of 18,000.00%.The firm had revenue of $2.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.11) EPS. The firm's revenue was up 100.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Aurora Innovation will post -0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aurora Innovation

In other news, Director Michelangelo Volpi sold 2,842,682 shares of Aurora Innovation stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.00, for a total value of $19,898,774.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 6,390,753 shares of company stock worth $44,826,378 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 8.52% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Aurora Innovation

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AUR. Clare Market Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aurora Innovation during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,697,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Aurora Innovation by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 274,809,541 shares of the company's stock worth $1,055,269,000 after purchasing an additional 16,933,373 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Aurora Innovation by 130.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 30,036,169 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,749,000 after buying an additional 16,975,927 shares during the period. Shah Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aurora Innovation during the second quarter worth $8,038,000. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in shares of Aurora Innovation by 46.4% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 3,661,728 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,086,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160,872 shares during the period. 44.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Aurora Innovation

Aurora Innovation, Inc develops autonomous vehicle technology designed to transport people and goods without human drivers. Its core product, the Aurora Driver, combines artificial intelligence, sensors, mapping, and other software and hardware systems to enable automated driving across trucking, ride-hailing, and logistics applications.

The company is initially focused on autonomous trucking, where its technology is intended to support long-haul freight operations and improve safety, efficiency, and vehicle utilization.

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