Russell Investments Group Ltd. Increases Stock Position in Aurora Innovation, Inc. $AUR

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. significantly increased its stake in Aurora Innovation, owning 154,075 shares after purchasing an additional 149,278 shares, reflecting a growth of 3,111.9% in the first quarter.
• Analysts have upgraded their price targets for Aurora Innovation, with Canaccord Genuity raising its target from $10 to $15, while Needham & Company increased its target to $13, indicating a positive outlook on the company's performance.
• Aurora Innovation's stock performance recently saw a drop to $5.63, with a 52-week range between $3.81 and $10.77, despite reporting quarterly earnings that exceeded analyst expectations.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ:AUR - Free Report) by 3,111.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 154,075 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 149,278 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in Aurora Innovation were worth $1,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AUR. Toyota Motor Corp acquired a new stake in Aurora Innovation in the fourth quarter valued at $298,294,000. Lightspeed Management Company L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Aurora Innovation in the fourth quarter valued at $74,003,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Aurora Innovation in the first quarter valued at $17,152,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Aurora Innovation by 2.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 115,413,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $776,155,000 after buying an additional 2,392,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Permanent Capital Management LP raised its stake in Aurora Innovation by 320.1% in the first quarter. Permanent Capital Management LP now owns 2,521,340 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,956,000 after buying an additional 1,921,140 shares in the last quarter. 44.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Aurora Innovation

In related news, Director Gloria R. Boyland sold 46,097 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.92, for a total transaction of $272,894.24. Following the transaction, the director owned 330,425 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,956,116. This trade represents a 12.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John J. Donahoe purchased 162,337 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $6.10 per share, for a total transaction of $990,255.70. Following the acquisition, the director owned 162,337 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $990,255.70. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 11.85% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Aurora Innovation from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Aurora Innovation from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $10.75.

Aurora Innovation Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ AUR traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $5.63. 9,627,101 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,677,500. Aurora Innovation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $3.81 and a 1 year high of $10.77. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.42. The stock has a market cap of $10.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.98 and a beta of 2.49.

Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ:AUR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.12) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $0.50 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Aurora Innovation, Inc. will post -0.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Aurora Innovation Profile

Aurora Innovation, Inc operates as a self-driving technology company in the United States. It focuses on developing Aurora Driver, a platform that brings a suite of self-driving hardware, software, and data services together to adapt and interoperate vehicles. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.