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

Key Points

• Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a consensus “Hold” rating from six analysts, with five holds and one buy; the average 12-month price target is $17.67 versus a recent price of $15.85.
• CEO Kevin Tang purchased 206,005 shares for approximately $3.15 million, while insiders acquired more than 814,000 shares worth $12.46 million over the past 90 days.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.28, exceeding estimates of $0.24, but revenue of $58.57 million fell short of the $80.45 million consensus forecast.

Shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH - Get Free Report) TSE: AUP have received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the six research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $17.6667.

AUPH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research downgraded Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday.

Insider Activity at Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Kevin Tang bought 206,005 shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $15.28 per share, for a total transaction of $3,147,756.40. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 13,044,106 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $199,313,939.68. This trade represents a 1.60% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 814,606 shares of company stock valued at $12,455,129. 10.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AUPH. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 411.9% in the 1st quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,471 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 2,793 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. 36.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:AUPH opened at $15.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 5.01 and a current ratio of 5.55. The company has a 50-day moving average of $15.95 and a 200-day moving average of $15.35. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $10.34 and a 52 week high of $19.25. The company has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 1.42.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH - Get Free Report) TSE: AUP last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.04. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 100.84% and a return on equity of 27.53%. The business had revenue of $58.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $80.45 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals will post 0.81 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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