Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) Shares Down 9.8% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Shares fell 9.8% to $14.65 on Thursday with volume down ~32% from average, despite a quarterly earnings beat (EPS $0.25 vs. $0.18) and a slight revenue beat ($77.7M vs. $77.0M); the stock trades at a P/E of ~7.3 and a market cap near $2.0B.
• Analyst and insider signals mixed: Weiss upgraded Aurinia to a "buy" and the consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a $17.25 target, while director Kevin Tang purchased 516,439 shares at $13.99 (insiders own 12.2%) and institutions hold ~36.8% of the stock.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH - Get Free Report) TSE: AUP traded down 9.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $14.65 and last traded at $14.6530. 723,876 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 32% from the average session volume of 1,058,789 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.25.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $17.25.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $15.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.94. The company has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.28 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 4.76 and a current ratio of 5.25.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH - Get Free Report) TSE: AUP last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.07. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 27.47% and a net margin of 101.46%.The business had revenue of $77.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $76.98 million. Analysts expect that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc will post 0.81 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aurinia Pharmaceuticals news, Director Kevin Tang acquired 516,439 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $13.99 per share, for a total transaction of $7,224,981.61. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,845,939 shares of the company's stock, valued at $165,724,686.61. The trade was a 4.56% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 12.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,387,194 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $54,026,000 after purchasing an additional 13,173 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,590,135 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $25,363,000 after buying an additional 140,535 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,574,957 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $25,121,000 after buying an additional 91,825 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,507,869 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $24,047,000 after buying an additional 22,169 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 728.6% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,341,067 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $14,819,000 after buying an additional 1,179,219 shares during the period. 36.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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