Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate Aurinia a "Hold": Six covering firms give a consensus Hold (four holds, two buys) with an average 1‑year price target of $17.25.
• Insider buying: Director Kevin Tang bought 516,439 shares at about $13.99, raising his stake to 11,845,939 shares, and insiders now own 12.20% of the company.
• Strong quarterly results but modest valuation: Aurinia reported EPS of $1.53 vs. $0.21 expected and revenue of $77.11M, while the stock trades near $15.39 with a market cap of about $2.0B and a P/E of 7.4.

Shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH - Get Free Report) TSE: AUP have been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $17.25.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st.

Insider Activity

In other Aurinia Pharmaceuticals news, Director Kevin Tang bought 516,439 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $13.99 per share, with a total value of $7,224,981.61. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,845,939 shares in the company, valued at $165,724,686.61. This trade represents a 4.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 12.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AUPH. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,387,194 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $54,026,000 after acquiring an additional 13,173 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,590,135 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $25,363,000 after acquiring an additional 140,535 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,574,957 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $25,121,000 after acquiring an additional 91,825 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,507,869 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $24,047,000 after purchasing an additional 22,169 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 728.6% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,341,067 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $14,819,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179,219 shares during the period. 36.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of AUPH opened at $15.39 on Friday. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $7.28 and a fifty-two week high of $16.88. The company's fifty day moving average is $15.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.82. The firm has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a PE ratio of 7.40 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 4.76, a current ratio of 5.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH - Get Free Report) TSE: AUP last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $1.32. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 27.47% and a net margin of 101.46%.The business had revenue of $77.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $74.70 million. Analysts forecast that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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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