Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) Sets New 12-Month High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Aurinia Pharmaceuticals shares reached a new 52-week high of $16.54 on Tuesday (last at $16.4650) on volume of about 394,697 shares; the stock has a $2.18 billion market cap and 50/200-day moving averages near $14.66/$14.46, with a consensus analyst rating of Hold and a $17.25 target.
• The company reported a strong quarter, with EPS of $1.53 versus $0.21 expected and revenue of $77.11 million beating estimates, alongside a reported net margin of 101.46% and ROE of 27.47%.
• Insider buying: Director Kevin Tang acquired 516,439 shares at an average $13.99 (≈$7.225M), raising his stake to 11,845,939 shares; insiders now own about 12.20% of the stock.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH - Get Free Report) TSE: AUP shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $16.54 and last traded at $16.4650, with a volume of 394697 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $16.06.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $14.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.46. The firm has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.89 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $1.32. The business had revenue of $77.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.70 million. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 101.46% and a return on equity of 27.47%. Equities research analysts predict that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc will post 0.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aurinia Pharmaceuticals news, Director Kevin Tang bought 516,439 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.99 per share, with a total value of $7,224,981.61. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 12.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 533,290 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $5,893,000 after acquiring an additional 94,941 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $934,000. Marex Group plc bought a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $1,143,000. Navellier & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $926,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 195.4% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 483,937 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $4,099,000 after acquiring an additional 320,124 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 36.83% of the company's stock.

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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