Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has an average analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from seven covering analysts, with a consensus 1-year price target of $17.25.
• Recent analyst actions were mixed: Zacks Research upgraded the stock to strong-buy, while Weiss Ratings downgraded it to hold.
• Insider activity has been notable, as CEO Kevin Tang bought 206,005 shares in June, and insiders have purchased 814,606 shares over the past three months.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH - Get Free Report) TSE: AUP has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $17.25.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kevin Tang acquired 206,005 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.28 per share, for a total transaction of $3,147,756.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 13,044,106 shares of the company's stock, valued at $199,313,939.68. This represents a 1.60% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders bought 814,606 shares of company stock valued at $12,455,129 over the last three months. 12.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 51,400 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $872,000 after acquiring an additional 4,200 shares during the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 1,008.1% during the first quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 6,815 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 6,200 shares during the last quarter. BankChampaign National Association bought a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth $198,000. Norris Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth $5,076,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 371,781 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $5,510,000 after purchasing an additional 4,145 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.83% of the company's stock.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.3%

AUPH stock opened at $15.98 on Wednesday. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $8.55 and a twelve month high of $19.25. The company has a current ratio of 5.55, a quick ratio of 5.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.36 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.37.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH - Get Free Report) TSE: AUP last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.07. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 99.97% and a return on equity of 26.62%. The business had revenue of $77.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.98 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for autoimmune diseases. The company's proprietary molecule, voclosporin, is designed to selectively inhibit calcineurin and reduce inflammation associated with autoimmune responses. Aurinia operates research and development facilities in Canada and the United States, leveraging collaborations with academic institutions and contract research organizations to advance its clinical pipeline.

The company's lead product, voclosporin (marketed as LUPKYNIS), received approval from the U.S.

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