Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) Shares Up 9.1% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Aurinia Pharmaceuticals shares rose 9.1% to about $17.64, reaching an intraday high of $17.80, while trading volume was 66% below its average.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating, with an average price target of $17.67; Royal Bank of Canada raised its target to $16 from $15.
• The company exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.28 versus $0.24 expected, though revenue of $58.57 million fell short of the $80.45 million estimate. CEO Kevin Tang and other insiders bought roughly $12.5 million of shares over the past three months.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH - Get Free Report) TSE: AUP's stock price traded up 9.1% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $17.80 and last traded at $17.6420. Approximately 421,079 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 1,241,123 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.17.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research lowered Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $17.67.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 5.6%

The company has a current ratio of 5.42, a quick ratio of 4.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.45 and a beta of 1.42. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $15.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.40.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $58.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.45 million. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 100.84% and a return on equity of 26.11%. As a group, research analysts predict that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc will post 0.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kevin Tang purchased 343,620 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.28 per share, for a total transaction of $5,250,513.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 12,838,101 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $196,166,183.28. This trade represents a 2.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders bought 814,606 shares of company stock valued at $12,455,129 in the last three months. 10.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 65.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 367,661 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,956,000 after acquiring an additional 145,179 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 40,380 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $642,000 after acquiring an additional 3,497 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 21.0% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 16.5% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 141,492 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,201,000 after purchasing an additional 20,027 shares during the last quarter. 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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