AWM Investment Company Inc. Buys Shares of 591,285 Aura Biosciences, Inc. $AURA

Key Points

• AWM Investment Company purchased 591,285 Aura Biosciences shares valued at approximately $4.2 million, representing about 0.57% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 96.75% of AURA.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Aura has a consensus “Hold” rating with a $17.50 price target, while HC Wainwright maintained a Buy rating but lowered its target to $18.
• Aura Biosciences reported a quarterly loss of $0.48 per share, missing the $0.38 consensus estimate. The stock opened at $7.82, compared with a 52-week range of $4.73 to $9.53.

AWM Investment Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 591,285 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,198,000. AWM Investment Company Inc. owned about 0.57% of Aura Biosciences at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AURA. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Aura Biosciences by 49.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,372 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 2,104 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Aura Biosciences by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 24,557 shares of the company's stock valued at $152,000 after buying an additional 2,693 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Aura Biosciences by 130.4% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,665 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 3,206 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Aura Biosciences by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 69,298 shares of the company's stock valued at $378,000 after acquiring an additional 4,366 shares during the last quarter. 96.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AURA has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Aura Biosciences from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Leerink Partners set a $17.00 target price on Aura Biosciences in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen cut Aura Biosciences from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, August 16th. Finally, HC Wainwright reduced their target price on Aura Biosciences from $24.00 to $18.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aura Biosciences currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $17.50.

Aura Biosciences Stock Performance

Aura Biosciences stock opened at $7.82 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $811.01 million, a PE ratio of -4.47 and a beta of 0.40. Aura Biosciences, Inc. has a one year low of $4.73 and a one year high of $9.53. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $7.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.86.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.38) by ($0.10). On average, analysts forecast that Aura Biosciences, Inc. will post -1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Aura Biosciences

In related news, insider Anthony S. Gibney sold 12,824 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.42, for a total value of $82,330.08. Following the transaction, the insider owned 265,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,703,572.68. The trade was a 4.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

Aura Biosciences Company Profile

Aura Biosciences is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel virus‐like particle (VLP) therapies for the treatment of cancer. By combining proprietary VLP technology with photoactivatable dyes, Aura aims to deliver highly selective photodynamic therapies that target and destroy tumor cells while sparing healthy tissue. The company's platform is designed to address solid tumors in both ophthalmic and non‐ophthalmic settings, leveraging precision activation via near‐infrared light to induce localized tumor cell apoptosis and stimulate anti‐tumor immune responses.

The lead product candidate, AU-011, is being evaluated in patients with choroidal melanoma, a rare but potentially sight-threatening eye cancer.

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