D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUPH)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUPH - Free Report) TSE: AUP by 41.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 133,333 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 39,384 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals worth $1,197,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 54.8% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 142,869 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,283,000 after purchasing an additional 50,575 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 724.4% during the 4th quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 168,252 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,511,000 after buying an additional 147,843 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 64,638 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $580,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC boosted its position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC now owns 16,606 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $149,000 after buying an additional 1,891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. purchased a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $647,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.83% of the company's stock.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:AUPH opened at $8.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of -55.13 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.27. The company has a current ratio of 5.60, a quick ratio of 5.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a 12-month low of $5.11 and a 12-month high of $10.67.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH - Get Free Report) TSE: AUP last released its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The biotechnology company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $62.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.06 million. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 10.23% and a negative return on equity of 4.41%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post 0.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Peter Greenleaf sold 195,593 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.00, for a total transaction of $1,564,744.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,953,892 shares in the company, valued at $15,631,136. This trade represents a 9.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Greg Keenan sold 8,305 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.23, for a total transaction of $68,350.15. Following the sale, the insider now owns 153,484 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,263,173.32. The trade was a 5.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 343,898 shares of company stock valued at $2,753,094 over the last three months. 4.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Profile

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing therapies to treat various diseases with unmet medical need in the United States. It offers LUPKYNIS for the treatment of adult patients with active lupus nephritis. It has a collaboration and license agreement with Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co, Ltd.

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