Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.10 EPS

Key Points

• Aura Biosciences reported a quarterly loss of $0.48 per share, missing analysts’ consensus estimate by $0.10.
• Shares traded around $7.55, with the stock remaining well below its 52-week high of $9.53; institutional investors own approximately 96.75% of outstanding shares.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with an overall “Hold” rating and an average price target of $20.50, while the company continues developing AU-011 for choroidal melanoma and other cancer treatments.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA - Get Free Report) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.38) by ($0.10), FiscalAI reports.

Aura Biosciences Price Performance

Shares of AURA stock traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $7.55. The company had a trading volume of 91,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 426,508. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $6.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.69. Aura Biosciences has a 52-week low of $4.73 and a 52-week high of $9.53. The stock has a market cap of $780.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.31 and a beta of 0.40.

Insider Activity at Aura Biosciences

In related news, insider Anthony S. Gibney sold 12,824 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.42, for a total transaction of $82,330.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 265,354 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,703,572.68. This trade represents a 4.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position 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 period. Water Island Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $64,000. Invesco Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $76,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Aura Biosciences by 286.6% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 13,499 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 10,007 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aura Biosciences in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $102,000. 96.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on AURA. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Aura Biosciences from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aura Biosciences from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on Aura Biosciences from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Leerink Partners set a $17.00 target price on Aura Biosciences in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aura Biosciences currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.50.

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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