Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) Raised to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Aura Biosciences from “Sell” to “Hold.” Analysts’ overall consensus is “Hold,” with two Buy ratings, one Hold and one Sell, and an average price target of $20.50.
• Aura’s stock opened at $7.99, with a market capitalization of approximately $826.5 million and a 52-week range of $4.73 to $9.53. The company reported quarterly EPS of negative $0.50, missing the consensus estimate of negative $0.40.
• Institutional investors own 96.75% of the shares, while insiders own 1.90%; insider Anthony S. Gibney recently sold 12,824 shares to cover tax-withholding obligations related to vested equity awards.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on AURA. Leerink Partners set a $17.00 target price on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings raised Aura Biosciences from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Aura Biosciences from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.50.

Aura Biosciences Stock Performance

AURA stock opened at $7.99 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $826.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.59 and a beta of 0.40. Aura Biosciences has a 1 year low of $4.73 and a 1 year high of $9.53. The stock's fifty day moving average is $6.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.66.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by ($0.10). As a group, analysts predict that Aura Biosciences will post -1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aura Biosciences

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

Institutional Trading of Aura Biosciences

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AURA. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences during the second quarter valued at approximately $297,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Aura Biosciences in the second quarter worth approximately $842,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Aura Biosciences by 150.3% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 91,075 shares of the company's stock valued at $609,000 after purchasing an additional 54,694 shares in the last quarter. Water Island Capital LLC bought a new position in Aura Biosciences during the 3rd quarter valued at $64,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Aura Biosciences by 49.3% during the 2nd 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. 96.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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