Short Interest in Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) Expands By 19.3%

Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,420,000 shares, a growth of 19.3% from the March 15th total of 1,190,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 250,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.7 days. Currently, 3.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Aura Biosciences Price Performance

AURA traded down $0.14 during trading on Friday, hitting $5.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 244,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 201,935. Aura Biosciences has a twelve month low of $4.84 and a twelve month high of $12.38. The stock has a market cap of $270.21 million, a PE ratio of -3.11 and a beta of 0.43. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $6.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.06.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 24th. The company reported ($0.52) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.43) by ($0.09). Equities analysts anticipate that Aura Biosciences will post -1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright set a $25.00 price target on Aura Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. JMP Securities set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Lifesci Capital raised shares of Aura Biosciences to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.75.

Insider Activity

In other Aura Biosciences news, insider Conor Kilroy sold 7,162 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.49, for a total transaction of $39,319.38. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 179,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $984,428.37. This represents a 3.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 14,148 shares of company stock valued at $91,434 in the last three months. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aura Biosciences

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AURA. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Aura Biosciences by 256.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 61,010 shares of the company's stock worth $544,000 after buying an additional 43,897 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Aura Biosciences by 3.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 754,803 shares of the company's stock worth $6,725,000 after acquiring an additional 26,841 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aura Biosciences by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,008,827 shares of the company's stock worth $8,990,000 after purchasing an additional 39,379 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Aura Biosciences by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 131,054 shares of the company's stock worth $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 14,662 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Aura Biosciences by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,668,960 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,571,000 after purchasing an additional 215,597 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.75% of the company's stock.

Aura Biosciences Company Profile

Aura Biosciences, Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, develops precision immunotherapies to treat a range of solid tumors. The company's proprietary platform enables the targeting of a range of solid tumors using virus-like particles conjugated with drugs or loaded with nucleic acids to create virus-like drug conjugates.