Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) Issues Earnings Results

Key Points

• Aura Biosciences reported Q‑results of ($0.37) EPS, beating estimates of ($0.43) by $0.06; the stock opened at $6.27, has a one‑year range of $4.34–$7.48 and a market cap of $398.15 million.
• Analyst coverage is mixed but the consensus is a Hold with a lofty average price target of $20.50 (three Buys, one Hold, one Sell), while Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" call.
• Notable insider selling occurred (CTO and SVP sold shares), with insiders offloading 123,076 shares (~$618,783) in the last three months, even as institutional investors reportedly own about 96.75% of the stock.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The company reported ($0.37) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.43) by $0.06, FiscalAI reports.

Aura Biosciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AURA opened at $6.27 on Monday. Aura Biosciences has a one year low of $4.34 and a one year high of $7.48. The company has a 50 day moving average of $5.82 and a 200-day moving average of $5.86. The stock has a market cap of $398.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.23 and a beta of 0.45.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $20.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aura Biosciences news, CTO Mark Plavsic sold 15,890 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.05, for a total transaction of $80,244.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 181,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $916,054.85. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Amy Elazzouzi sold 8,549 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.06, for a total value of $43,257.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 75,532 shares in the company, valued at approximately $382,191.92. This trade represents a 10.17% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aura Biosciences

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AURA. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings 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 worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,104 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Aura Biosciences by 12.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 24,557 shares of the company's stock worth $152,000 after purchasing an additional 2,693 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Aura Biosciences by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 69,298 shares of the company's stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 4,366 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aura Biosciences by 35.9% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 20,993 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 5,541 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Aura Biosciences by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 25,031 shares of the company's stock valued at $136,000 after buying an additional 5,674 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.75% of the company's stock.

Aura Biosciences Company Profile

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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