Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) Sets New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Aurinia Pharmaceuticals achieved a new 52-week high of $11.19 after receiving an analyst upgrade from the Royal Bank of Canada, which raised its price target from $8.00 to $9.00.
• Institutional investors have been actively increasing their holdings in Aurinia, with Deutsche Bank AG boosting its shares by 54.8% in the fourth quarter.
• In its recent quarterly earnings, the company reported $0.16 EPS, missing estimates, but surpassed revenue expectations with $70.01 million compared to the projected $64.27 million.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH - Get Free Report) TSE: AUP shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday after Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on the stock from $8.00 to $9.00. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals traded as high as $11.19 and last traded at $11.43, with a volume of 574650 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.49.

Separately, HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, July 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kevin Tang acquired 200,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $11.68 per share, with a total value of $2,336,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 11,329,500 shares in the company, valued at $132,328,560. The trade was a 1.80% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 1,300,000 shares of company stock valued at $13,590,000. Corporate insiders own 12.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 368.5% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,350 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 2,635 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 56.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,852 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,744 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 36.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 4.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.87 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $8.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.18.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH - Get Free Report) TSE: AUP last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The biotechnology company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.01). Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 23.31% and a return on equity of 20.06%. The firm had revenue of $70.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.27 million. On average, analysts expect that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc will post 0.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing therapies to treat various diseases with unmet medical need in the United States. It offers LUPKYNIS for the treatment of adult patients with active lupus nephritis. It has a collaboration and license agreement with Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co, Ltd.