Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) Hits New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Aurinia Pharmaceuticals shares reached a new 52-week high of $16.88 and were trading around $16.51, while analysts hold a consensus "Hold" rating with a $17.25 target (2 Buys, 4 Holds).
• The company reported a notable quarterly earnings beat with EPS of $1.53 vs. $0.21 expected and revenue of $77.11M vs. $74.7M, and carries a $2.17B market cap and a P/E of 7.85 with strong liquidity (current ratio 5.25).
• Director Kevin Tang bought 516,439 shares at $13.99 (~$7.22M), lifting his stake to 11.85M shares; insiders now own 12.2% of the company and institutional investors hold about 36.8%.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH - Get Free Report) TSE: AUP shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $16.88 and last traded at $16.5050, with a volume of 162989 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $16.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $17.25.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $14.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.66. The company has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.85 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 5.25, a quick ratio of 4.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH - Get Free Report) TSE: AUP last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $1.53 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.70 million. Analysts predict that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc will post 0.81 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Kevin Tang bought 516,439 shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.99 per share, with a total value of $7,224,981.61. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 11,845,939 shares in the company, valued at $165,724,686.61. The trade was a 4.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 12.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 65.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 367,661 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,956,000 after buying an additional 145,179 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 503,543 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $4,048,000 after buying an additional 40,380 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 79,811 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $642,000 after acquiring an additional 3,497 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 21.0% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 20,699 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $175,000 after acquiring an additional 3,594 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 16.5% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 141,492 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,201,000 after acquiring an additional 20,027 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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