Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) Earns "Sell (D-)" Rating from Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Aura Biosciences received a "sell (D-)" rating from Weiss Ratings, amid a mixed outlook with other research firms issuing varied ratings.
• The company's stock showed a trading increase of 5.7%, reaching $6.09, with a market cap of $378.31 million and a consensus price target of $22.00.
• Insider trading activity included SVP Amy Elazzouzi selling 7,722 shares, reducing her ownership by approximately 8.19% to 86,558 shares.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sell (d-)" rating reissued by equities researchers at Weiss Ratings in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other research firms also recently commented on AURA. Zacks Research raised Aura Biosciences from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.00.

Aura Biosciences Trading Up 5.7%

AURA traded up $0.33 on Wednesday, hitting $6.09. 331,420 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 221,610. Aura Biosciences has a twelve month low of $4.34 and a twelve month high of $12.38. The company has a market cap of $378.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.11 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $6.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.18.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.47) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by $0.02. Equities analysts expect that Aura Biosciences will post -1.66 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Aura Biosciences

In related news, SVP Amy Elazzouzi sold 7,722 shares of Aura Biosciences stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.70, for a total value of $51,737.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 86,558 shares in the company, valued at $579,938.60. This trade represents a 8.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Aura Biosciences

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Aura Biosciences by 49.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,372 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,104 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Aura Biosciences by 5,766.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,739 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 9,573 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. bought a new stake in Aura Biosciences in the second quarter worth approximately $76,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Aura Biosciences by 24.3% in the second quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,453 shares of the company's stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 2,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Aura Biosciences by 286.6% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 13,499 shares of the company's stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 10,007 shares in the last quarter. 96.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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