Wall Street Zen Downgrades Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) to Hold

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Aura Minerals to “Hold” from “Buy,” while the broader analyst consensus is also “Hold,” with three Buy, two Hold, and one Sell ratings and an average price target of $79.27.
• Several analysts recently reduced their price targets or ratings, including JPMorgan’s target cut to $91 and Bank of America’s reduction to $94, despite maintaining Overweight and Buy ratings, respectively.
• Aura Minerals reported quarterly revenue of $335.97 million and EPS of $2.57, with a 23.18% net margin and 103.62% return on equity; insiders sold substantially more shares than they purchased during the last quarter.

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Aura Minerals from $104.50 to $91.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Aura Minerals from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Santander cut Aura Minerals from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Aura Minerals from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Aura Minerals from $122.00 to $94.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.27.

Aura Minerals Stock Performance

Shares of AUGO stock opened at $84.91 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.99 and a beta of 0.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $68.44 and a 200 day moving average of $74.73. Aura Minerals has a 52 week low of $29.11 and a 52 week high of $110.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Aura Minerals had a net margin of 23.18% and a return on equity of 103.62%. The business had revenue of $335.97 million for the quarter. As a group, research analysts expect that Aura Minerals will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Aura Minerals

In other Aura Minerals news, COO Glauber Luvizotto sold 64,713 shares of Aura Minerals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.20, for a total value of $5,189,982.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 224,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,006,103. The trade was a 22.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Santos Cardoso Joao Kleber Dos sold 60,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.95, for a total transaction of $3,717,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 118,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,316,976.45. This represents a 33.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 263,011 shares of company stock valued at $22,662,070 and sold 1,327,222 shares valued at $108,817,936.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aura Minerals

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in Aura Minerals during the 2nd quarter valued at $86,494,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Aura Minerals by 42.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 977,212 shares of the company's stock worth $79,740,000 after purchasing an additional 291,623 shares during the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda lifted its holdings in shares of Aura Minerals by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 877,211 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,225,000 after purchasing an additional 71,289 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Aura Minerals by 32.7% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 623,662 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,439,000 after purchasing an additional 153,828 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aura Minerals during the first quarter valued at $50,378,000.

About Aura Minerals

We are an Americas gold and copper production company with a significant portfolio of mining operations. Our mission is to deliver long-term value by unlocking operational efficiencies, responsibly growing our portfolio with a focus on return on invested capital, responsible mining practices and a commitment to sustainability. We operate with a decentralized culture, supported by a lean corporate team that ensures agile and dynamic management and decision-making processes, focused on high operational sustainability compliance standards.

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