Cantor Fitzgerald Reaffirms Overweight Rating for Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ:AUR)

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed its overweight rating on Aurora Innovation and set a $12 price target, implying about 80% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed overall: Aurora currently has a Hold consensus rating, with 7 Buy, 2 Hold, and 2 Sell ratings, and an average target price of $12.22.
• The company is drawing attention for its second-generation driverless truck rollout, which analysts and recent headlines suggest could help Aurora scale autonomous freight operations and support future revenue growth.

Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ:AUR - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "overweight" rating reissued by equities research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $12.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald's target price indicates a potential upside of 80.37% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on AUR. Wall Street Zen lowered Aurora Innovation from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, April 26th. Craig Hallum started coverage on shares of Aurora Innovation in a research report on Friday, June 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $18.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Aurora Innovation from $4.70 to $7.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Northland Securities started coverage on shares of Aurora Innovation in a research note on Friday, May 29th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $11.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Aurora Innovation in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aurora Innovation currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.22.

Aurora Innovation Stock Up 0.7%

AUR stock opened at $6.65 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.30 and a beta of 2.63. Aurora Innovation has a 52 week low of $3.60 and a 52 week high of $8.56.

Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ:AUR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.97 million. The company's quarterly revenue was down 66.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Aurora Innovation will post -0.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aurora Innovation

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AUR. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aurora Innovation by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 160,567,323 shares of the company's stock worth $616,579,000 after purchasing an additional 17,818,179 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Aurora Innovation by 130.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 30,036,169 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,749,000 after acquiring an additional 16,975,927 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Aurora Innovation by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 274,809,541 shares of the company's stock worth $1,055,269,000 after purchasing an additional 16,933,373 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Aurora Innovation by 2,068.8% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 11,243,080 shares of the company's stock worth $46,319,000 after purchasing an additional 10,724,682 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Aurora Innovation by 6,824.0% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,645,035 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,037,000 after purchasing an additional 9,505,736 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.71% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Aurora Innovation

Here are the key news stories impacting Aurora Innovation this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Aurora announced a new second-generation driverless truck fleet, which could improve its ability to scale autonomous freight operations and support future revenue growth. Aurora announces new driverless truck fleet ahead of Q2 earnings – retail calls it a catalyst for upcoming momentum
• Positive Sentiment: The company said its new driverless hardware is helping it move toward scale faster, reinforcing the investment case around commercialization progress. Aurora races toward scale with new driverless hardware
• Positive Sentiment: Aurora rolled out next-generation driverless trucks for commercial freight, a sign that customer adoption and production scaling are advancing. Aurora Rolls Out Next Generation of Driverless Trucks for Commercial Freight
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Aurora’s second-generation trucks are being launched in the U.S. to meet customer demand suggest stronger near-term operational momentum. Aurora Launches Second-Generation Driverless Trucks in U.S. to Meet Customer Demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Several additional articles echoed the same product rollout and expansion theme, increasing visibility but offering little new information beyond the hardware launch. Aurora Innovation Rises After Launch of Second-Generation Driverless Trucks

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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