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

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Five analysts give Aura Biosciences a consensus rating of Hold (1 sell, 1 hold, 3 buy) with an average 12‑month price target of $20.50.
• Insider selling: Company insiders sold 116,305 shares valued at about $611,230 in the last quarter (notable sales by Los Pinos Elisabet De and Conor Kilroy), leaving insiders with roughly 6.30% ownership.
• Stock and fundamentals: Shares trade around $7.05 (12‑month range $4.34–$7.48) with a market cap of ~$452M; Aura is a clinical‑stage biopharma developing AU‑011 for choroidal melanoma and recently reported a quarterly loss of $0.37 per share, beating estimates of -$0.43.

Shares of Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the five research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.50.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AURA. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aura Biosciences from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research note on Friday, March 27th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Los Pinos Elisabet De sold 47,648 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.06, for a total value of $241,098.88. Following the transaction, the insider owned 409,815 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,073,663.90. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Conor Kilroy sold 12,079 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider owned 167,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $844,531.70. The trade was a 6.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 116,305 shares of company stock valued at $611,230 in the last quarter. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aura Biosciences

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Aura Biosciences by 49.3% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,372 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,104 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Aura Biosciences by 12.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 24,557 shares of the company's stock valued at $152,000 after purchasing an additional 2,693 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Aura Biosciences by 5.5% in the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 69,037 shares of the company's stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 3,630 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Aura Biosciences by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 69,298 shares of the company's stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 4,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Aura Biosciences by 35.9% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 20,993 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 5,541 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.75% of the company's stock.

Aura Biosciences Stock Down 3.3%

Shares of NASDAQ AURA opened at $7.05 on Tuesday. Aura Biosciences has a twelve month low of $4.34 and a twelve month high of $7.48. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $6.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.93. The company has a market capitalization of $452.26 million, a PE ratio of -3.94 and a beta of 0.35.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 30th. The company reported ($0.37) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.43) by $0.06. As a group, research analysts expect that Aura Biosciences will post -1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

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