Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Stake in Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ:AUR)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Aurora Innovation, Inc. by 2.1%, holding approximately 6.63% of the company, valued at $776 million.
• Several hedge funds, including LPL Financial LLC and Franklin Resources Inc., significantly raised their stakes in Aurora Innovation during the fourth quarter, indicating renewed institutional interest.
• Aurora Innovation's stock has received positive ratings, with analysts setting price targets ranging from $7.00 to $15.00, reflecting a consensus average rating of "Moderate Buy."

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ:AUR - Free Report) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 115,413,401 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,392,995 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 6.63% of Aurora Innovation worth $776,155,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AUR. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aurora Innovation in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Aurora Innovation by 208.0% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 3,568 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Aurora Innovation by 147.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,922 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 3,527 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Aurora Innovation by 37.2% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,683 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 2,085 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new stake in Aurora Innovation during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,000. 44.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Aurora Innovation from $10.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Aurora Innovation from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Aurora Innovation from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $10.75.

Insider Activity at Aurora Innovation

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

Aurora Innovation Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ AUR traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $6.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 18,862,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,365,012. The business's 50 day moving average is $5.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.50. Aurora Innovation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $3.40 and a 12-month high of $10.77. The firm has a market cap of $11.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.60 and a beta of 2.49.

Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ:AUR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $0.50 million. On average, analysts predict that Aurora Innovation, Inc. will post -0.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.