BlackRock Inc. Makes New Investment in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc $AUPH

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH - Free Report) TSE: AUP during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 8,193,085 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $139,037,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 6.37% of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AUPH. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $3,564,000. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC acquired a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $7,070,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor bought a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $1,565,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $5,954,000. Institutional investors own 36.83% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AUPH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Bloom Burton upgraded Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings raised Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $17.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kevin Tang bought 343,620 shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.28 per share, with a total value of $5,250,513.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,838,101 shares in the company, valued at $196,166,183.28. This trade represents a 2.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 10.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of AUPH opened at $16.29 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $15.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.49. The company has a quick ratio of 4.97, a current ratio of 5.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.11 and a beta of 1.42. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc has a 12-month low of $10.34 and a 12-month high of $19.25.

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

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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