Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Aura Biosciences has been upgraded by Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating, reflecting a shift in analyst sentiment for the company's stock.
• JMP Securities maintains a "market outperform" rating with a target price of $19.00, while HC Wainwright has reaffirmed a "buy" rating with a price objective of $22.00.
• The company's shares opened at $6.37 on Tuesday, and institutional investors currently own 96.75% of the stock, indicating strong support from major financial entities.

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA - Free Report) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also commented on AURA. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aura Biosciences presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $22.00.

Aura Biosciences Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of AURA stock traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $6.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 200,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 159,054. The business has a fifty day moving average of $6.61 and a 200-day moving average of $6.47. The stock has a market cap of $406.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.34 and a beta of 0.46. Aura Biosciences has a twelve month low of $4.34 and a twelve month high of $12.38.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Amy Elazzouzi sold 7,722 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.70, for a total transaction of $51,737.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 86,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $579,938.60. This represents a 8.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aura Biosciences

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AURA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Aura Biosciences by 76.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 94,386 shares of the company's stock valued at $776,000 after buying an additional 40,884 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aura Biosciences by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,012,799 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,327,000 after buying an additional 3,972 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of Aura Biosciences by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 27,623 shares of the company's stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 5,930 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Aura Biosciences by 489.4% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 83,700 shares of the company's stock worth $688,000 after purchasing an additional 69,500 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in Aura Biosciences by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 72,725 shares of the company's stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 11,715 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.75% of the company's stock.

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.