Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Aura Minerals (AUGO) from "buy" to "hold"; other analysts are mixed but MarketBeat's consensus remains a Buy with an average target price of $67.60.
• Shares and fundamentals: AUGO opened at $109.14 and sits near its 1‑year high ($110.32) with a $9.14 billion market cap, yet the company reported negative EPS (−$0.24), a negative net margin (−8.61%) and a negative P/E (~−103.94).
• Insider and institutional activity: CEO Rodrigo Cardoso Barbosa sold 10,000 shares at about $65.82, while several institutions (including Capital World Investors, JPMorgan and Marshall Wace) have recently initiated or increased positions.

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Aura Minerals in a research report on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Aura Minerals in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research raised Aura Minerals from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $67.60.

Aura Minerals Price Performance

AUGO stock opened at $109.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.14 billion and a P/E ratio of -103.94. The business's 50-day moving average is $81.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.10. Aura Minerals has a 1 year low of $17.98 and a 1 year high of $110.32.

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $321.66 million during the quarter. Aura Minerals had a negative net margin of 8.61% and a positive return on equity of 94.81%.

Insider Activity at Aura Minerals

In other news, CEO Rodrigo Cardoso Barbosa sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.82, for a total value of $658,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 859,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,588,415.90. This represents a 1.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in shares of Aura Minerals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $60,284,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda increased its holdings in shares of Aura Minerals by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 877,211 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,225,000 after acquiring an additional 71,289 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. purchased a new position in shares of Aura Minerals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,097,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Aura Minerals by 32.7% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 623,662 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,439,000 after acquiring an additional 153,828 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aura Minerals by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 496,303 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,021,000 after acquiring an additional 42,091 shares during the last quarter.

About Aura Minerals

We are an Americas gold and copper production company with a significant portfolio of mining operations. Our mission is to deliver long-term value by unlocking operational efficiencies, responsibly growing our portfolio with a focus on return on invested capital, responsible mining practices and a commitment to sustainability. We operate with a decentralized culture, supported by a lean corporate team that ensures agile and dynamic management and decision-making processes, focused on high operational sustainability compliance standards.

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