Aurora Innovation, Inc. $AUR Shares Purchased by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group raised its stake in Aurora by 17.7% in Q3 to 7,264,577 shares (about $39.16 million), and institutional investors now own roughly 44.71% of the company.
• CEO Christopher Urmson bought 258,000 shares at an average of $3.88 (~$1.0M), increasing insider ownership to 11.85%, a signal of management confidence.
• Analysts are mixed — MarketBeat shows an average rating of "Hold" with an average price target of $10.06 versus a recent share price near $4.67, implying potential upside amid tempered sentiment.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ:AUR - Free Report) by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,264,577 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,094,021 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.39% of Aurora Innovation worth $39,156,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. ARK Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Aurora Innovation by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 2,732,200 shares of the company's stock worth $14,317,000 after acquiring an additional 270,514 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Aurora Innovation by 462.9% in the second quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 234,437 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,228,000 after purchasing an additional 192,786 shares during the period. Bouvel Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aurora Innovation in the second quarter valued at about $697,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG purchased a new position in shares of Aurora Innovation in the third quarter worth about $18,326,000. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System acquired a new stake in shares of Aurora Innovation during the second quarter worth about $251,000. 44.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AUR shares. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Aurora Innovation in a report on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Aurora Innovation from $6.00 to $4.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Aurora Innovation in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Aurora Innovation from $7.40 to $5.50 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Aurora Innovation in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $10.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aurora Innovation

In other news, CEO Christopher Urmson bought 258,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $3.88 per share, with a total value of $1,001,040.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 258,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,040. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.85% of the company's stock.

Aurora Innovation Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AUR opened at $4.67 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.38 and a beta of 2.47. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $4.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.15. Aurora Innovation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $3.60 and a 12 month high of $10.77.

Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ:AUR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.13) earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Aurora Innovation, Inc. will post -0.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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