Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Buys New Position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH)

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. has acquired a $6.05 million position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals, purchasing approximately 752,769 shares of the biotechnology company.
• Institutional investors hold about 36.83% of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals’ stock, indicating significant interest from hedge funds and asset management firms.
• Aurinia Pharmaceuticals reported quarterly earnings of $0.16 per share, just under the consensus estimate, but achieved revenues of $70.01 million, exceeding expectations.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH - Free Report) TSE: AUP during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 752,769 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $6,052,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned about 0.55% of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 368.5% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,350 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 2,635 shares during the period. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 56.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,852 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis purchased a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. 36.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Kevin Tang acquired 200,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $11.68 per share, with a total value of $2,336,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 11,329,500 shares in the company, valued at $132,328,560. This represents a 1.80% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 1,300,000 shares of company stock worth $13,590,000. Insiders own 12.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

AUPH stock traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $11.44. The stock had a trading volume of 2,217,086 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,592,777. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc has a 52 week low of $5.29 and a 52 week high of $11.80. The company has a current ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 4.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.59 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.21.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH - Get Free Report) TSE: AUP last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The biotechnology company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $70.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.27 million. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 20.06% and a net margin of 23.31%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc will post 0.11 EPS for the current year.

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.