Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ:AUR) Stock Price Up 5.9% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Aurora Innovation shares rose 5.9% on Wednesday, trading as high as $6.72 after closing at $6.31, with volume below its daily average.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but generally cautious: the stock has an average Hold rating and a $12.25 target price, while recent updates included buy ratings from Needham and Morgan Stanley and a downgrade from Wall Street Zen.
• The company recently beat earnings expectations by one cent per share, but revenue fell 66.7% year over year; meanwhile, insider activity has been notable with Director David M. Wehner buying shares and Reid Hoffman selling a large stake.

Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ:AUR - Get Free Report) was up 5.9% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $6.72 and last traded at $6.6850. 12,782,264 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 45% from the average daily volume of 23,121,775 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.31.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AUR shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $13.00 target price on shares of Aurora Innovation in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Aurora Innovation from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $14.00 price objective on shares of Aurora Innovation in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Aurora Innovation from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, April 26th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Aurora Innovation from $4.70 to $7.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.25.

Aurora Innovation Stock Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average is $6.65 and its 200 day moving average is $5.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.11 billion, a PE ratio of -15.22 and a beta of 2.63.

Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ:AUR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.12) by $0.01. Aurora Innovation had a negative return on equity of 40.45% and a negative net margin of 20,775.00%.The firm had revenue of $1.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.97 million. The business's revenue was down 66.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aurora Innovation, Inc. will post -0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David M. Wehner acquired 82,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $6.04 per share, with a total value of $498,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 246,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,488,974.76. This represents a 50.30% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Reid Hoffman sold 5,498,487 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.81, for a total transaction of $42,943,183.47. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 77,500 shares in the company, valued at $605,275. The trade was a 98.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 7,048,487 shares of company stock valued at $54,295,119. Company insiders own 8.52% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aurora Innovation

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aurora Innovation by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 15,820 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aurora Innovation by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 15,000 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Abel Hall LLC increased its position in Aurora Innovation by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 13,596 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 2,356 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Aurora Innovation by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 34,812 shares of the company's stock valued at $134,000 after buying an additional 2,406 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Aurora Innovation by 20.1% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 14,686 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 2,458 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 44.71% of the company's stock.

About Aurora Innovation

Aurora Innovation, Inc is a technology company specializing in the development of self-driving vehicle systems for both passenger and commercial applications. Headquartered in Mountain View, California, Aurora has built an end-to-end platform—known as the Aurora Driver—that integrates proprietary software, machine learning algorithms and a suite of sensors (LiDAR, radar and cameras) to enable vehicles to operate safely and efficiently in diverse driving environments.

The company's core business revolves around designing, testing and deploying its autonomy stack on vehicles from established automotive and transportation partners.

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