Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ:AUR) Stock Bumped Down to Strong Sell by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Aurora Innovation to “strong sell” from “hold,” despite a broader analyst consensus of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.22.
• Aurora shares opened at $5.34, while the company’s latest quarterly results showed a $0.14-per-share loss, missing estimates, although revenue doubled year over year to $2 million.
• Insiders sold heavily, including a director’s $19.9 million share sale, while institutional investors owned 44.71% of the stock; analysts’ views remain divided, with eight Buys, two Holds and three Sells.

Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ:AUR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $12.00 price objective on shares of Aurora Innovation in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Aurora Innovation from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Aurora Innovation in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Aurora Innovation from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Aurora Innovation from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aurora Innovation presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $13.22.

Aurora Innovation Stock Performance

Shares of AUR opened at $5.34 on Monday. Aurora Innovation has a twelve month low of $3.60 and a twelve month high of $8.56. The firm's 50-day moving average is $6.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.11.

Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ:AUR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.12) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $2.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 million. Aurora Innovation had a negative net margin of 18,000.00% and a negative return on equity of 43.94%. Aurora Innovation's revenue was up 100.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.11) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Aurora Innovation will post -0.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Aurora Innovation

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AUR. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aurora Innovation by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 274,809,541 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,055,269,000 after acquiring an additional 16,933,373 shares during the last quarter. Clare Market Investments LLC acquired a new position in Aurora Innovation in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,697,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Aurora Innovation by 130.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 16,975,927 shares during the last quarter. Shah Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aurora Innovation in the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,038,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Aurora Innovation in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,893,000. 44.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aurora Innovation Company Profile

Aurora Innovation, Inc develops autonomous driving technology for commercial and passenger vehicles. Its primary product is the Aurora Driver, an autonomous driving system designed to combine hardware, software and artificial intelligence to enable vehicles to operate without a human driver. The company focuses on applications including long-haul trucking, delivery and logistics, and autonomous ride-hailing.

Aurora works with automotive manufacturers, trucking companies, logistics providers and transportation platforms to integrate its technology into production vehicles and commercial fleets.

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