Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) Receives "Market Outperform" Rating from JMP Securities

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "market outperform" rating reaffirmed by research analysts at JMP Securities in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $19.00 target price on the stock. JMP Securities' price target would indicate a potential upside of 223.13% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on AURA. HC Wainwright set a $25.00 target price on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Lifesci Capital upgraded Aura Biosciences to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $22.75.

Aura Biosciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AURA opened at $5.88 on Friday. Aura Biosciences has a 1 year low of $4.35 and a 1 year high of $12.38. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $5.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.44. The firm has a market cap of $295.58 million, a P/E ratio of -3.42 and a beta of 0.43.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The company reported ($0.55) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.47) by ($0.08). As a group, equities analysts predict that Aura Biosciences will post -1.66 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Aura Biosciences

In related news, insider Conor Kilroy sold 7,162 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 179,313 shares in the company, valued at $984,428.37. This trade represents a 3.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony S. Gibney purchased 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $4.90 per share, with a total value of $245,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 58,452 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,414.80. This represents a 591.58% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,578 shares of company stock worth $52,067. 5.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aura Biosciences

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in Aura Biosciences during the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Aura Biosciences by 5,766.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,739 shares of the company's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 9,573 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Aura Biosciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $87,000. Ascent Group LLC bought a new stake in Aura Biosciences during the first quarter worth about $124,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Aura Biosciences in the fourth quarter worth about $127,000. Institutional investors own 96.75% of the company's stock.

About Aura Biosciences

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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