Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Five brokerages rate Aura an average of "Hold" (1 sell, 1 hold, 3 buy) with a mean 12‑month target of $20.50, versus the stock's recent open around $6.44.
• Contrasting view: Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" on the shares, underscoring mixed analyst sentiment.
• Ownership and insider activity: Insiders sold 123,076 shares (~$618,783) in the past three months (insiders now own 6.30%), while institutional ownership is very high at 96.75% and firms like Millennium and Wellington recently increased stakes.

Shares of Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the five brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.50.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a report on Monday, December 29th.

Aura Biosciences Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:AURA opened at $6.44 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average is $5.79 and its 200 day moving average is $5.87. The stock has a market cap of $408.94 million, a P/E ratio of -3.32 and a beta of 0.45. Aura Biosciences has a 52-week low of $4.34 and a 52-week high of $7.48.

Insider Transactions at Aura Biosciences

In related news, insider Conor Kilroy sold 12,079 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.05, for a total value of $60,998.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 167,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at $844,531.70. This represents a 6.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Amy Elazzouzi sold 8,549 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.06, for a total transaction of $43,257.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 75,532 shares in the company, valued at approximately $382,191.92. The trade was a 10.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 123,076 shares of company stock valued at $618,783 over the last three months. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aura Biosciences

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Aura Biosciences by 145.2% during the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 60,811 shares of the company's stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 36,006 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Aura Biosciences by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 140,959 shares of the company's stock worth $768,000 after buying an additional 13,647 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Aura Biosciences by 233.3% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 617,338 shares of the company's stock worth $3,364,000 after buying an additional 432,117 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in Aura Biosciences during the 4th quarter valued at $234,000. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Aura Biosciences by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 51,419 shares of the company's stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 7,998 shares during the period. 96.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Aura Biosciences

Aura Biosciences is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel virus‐like particle (VLP) therapies for the treatment of cancer. By combining proprietary VLP technology with photoactivatable dyes, Aura aims to deliver highly selective photodynamic therapies that target and destroy tumor cells while sparing healthy tissue. The company's platform is designed to address solid tumors in both ophthalmic and non‐ophthalmic settings, leveraging precision activation via near‐infrared light to induce localized tumor cell apoptosis and stimulate anti‐tumor immune responses.

The lead product candidate, AU-011, is being evaluated in patients with choroidal melanoma, a rare but potentially sight-threatening eye cancer.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.