Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Makes New Investment in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc $AUPH

Key Points

• Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired 275,300 Aurinia Pharmaceuticals shares worth approximately $4.08 million, giving it a 0.21% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 36.83% of the company.
• Aurinia reported quarterly EPS of $0.25, beating analyst expectations of $0.18, while revenue of $77.71 million slightly exceeded estimates. Shares opened at $15.00, down 1.2%, with a market capitalization of about $1.93 billion.
• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating and a $17.33 target price. CEO Kevin Tang also bought 343,620 shares for roughly $5.25 million, contributing to more than $12.4 million in insider purchases over the past 90 days.

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH - Free Report) TSE: AUP during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 275,300 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $4,080,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned 0.21% of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,407 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 1,318 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 15,643 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 1,765 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 14,065 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $208,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,270 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $483,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.83% of the company's stock.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ AUPH opened at $15.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.91 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 5.55, a quick ratio of 5.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc has a 12-month low of $8.85 and a 12-month high of $19.25. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $15.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.35.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH - Get Free Report) TSE: AUP last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.07. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 26.62% and a net margin of 99.97%.The firm had revenue of $77.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.98 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc will post 0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AUPH shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research downgraded Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $17.33.

Insider Transactions at Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Kevin Tang purchased 343,620 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $15.28 per share, for a total transaction of $5,250,513.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,838,101 shares of the company's stock, valued at $196,166,183.28. The trade was a 2.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have purchased a total of 814,606 shares of company stock valued at $12,455,129 in the last ninety days. 10.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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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