Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from “strong buy” to “buy,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “hold,” with an average price target of $17.67.
• Aurinia reported quarterly EPS of $0.28, beating estimates of $0.24, but revenue of $58.57 million fell short of the $81.79 million consensus forecast.
• Insiders have shown confidence in the company, purchasing 814,606 shares worth approximately $12.5 million over the past 90 days; insiders now own 10.4% of the stock.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH - Get Free Report) TSE: AUP was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on AUPH. Zacks Research cut shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $17.67.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AUPH opened at $15.85 on Friday. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $10.34 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 cap of $2.04 billion, a PE ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 1.42. The company's 50 day moving average is $15.95 and its 200 day moving average is $15.35.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH - Get Free Report) TSE: AUP last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $58.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.79 million. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 100.84% and a return on equity of 27.53%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals will post 0.81 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Kevin Tang acquired 206,005 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.28 per share, with a total value of $3,147,756.40. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 13,044,106 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 814,606 shares of company stock worth $12,455,129. 10.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $729,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 206.2% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 258,816 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $4,128,000 after purchasing an additional 174,301 shares in the last quarter. Cvfg LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at about $1,000,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at about $1,340,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,663,835 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $24,658,000 after purchasing an additional 73,700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.83% of the company's stock.

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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