HC Wainwright Has Negative Forecast for AURA FY2030 Earnings

Key Points

• HC Wainwright cut its FY2030 EPS estimate for Aura to ($0.49) from ($0.35) but kept a Buy rating and a $24.00 price target.
• Aura shares trade around $7.01 with a market cap of about $450 million and a consensus full-year EPS estimate of ($1.63), with a 52-week range of $4.34–$7.68.
• Analyst coverage is mixed (three Buys, one Hold, one Sell) giving an average "Hold" rating and a $21.50 target, while insiders have sold 116,305 shares in the last 90 days and currently own about 6.3% of the stock.

Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at HC Wainwright decreased their FY2030 earnings per share estimates for Aura Biosciences in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, April 29th. HC Wainwright analyst A. Maldonado now forecasts that the company will earn ($0.49) per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of ($0.35). HC Wainwright has a "Buy" rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Aura Biosciences' current full-year earnings is ($1.63) per share.

AURA has been the topic of several other reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aura Biosciences from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.50.

Aura Biosciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AURA opened at $7.01 on Monday. Aura Biosciences has a 1-year low of $4.34 and a 1-year high of $7.68. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $450.04 million, a PE ratio of -3.92 and a beta of 0.37.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 30th. The company reported ($0.37) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.43) by $0.06.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Aura Biosciences by 49.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,372 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,104 shares during the period. Water Island Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aura Biosciences during the third quarter worth approximately $64,000. 49 Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences in the third quarter valued at approximately $66,000. ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences during the second quarter worth approximately $76,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aura Biosciences

In other Aura Biosciences news, CTO Mark Plavsic sold 15,890 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.05, for a total value of $80,244.50. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 181,397 shares in the company, valued at $916,054.85. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Janet Jill Hopkins sold 20,401 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.06, for a total transaction of $103,229.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 232,284 shares in the company, valued at $1,175,357.04. The trade was a 8.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 116,305 shares of company stock worth $611,230. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Aura Biosciences

Aura Biosciences is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel virus‐like particle (VLP) therapies for the treatment of cancer. By combining proprietary VLP technology with photoactivatable dyes, Aura aims to deliver highly selective photodynamic therapies that target and destroy tumor cells while sparing healthy tissue. The company's platform is designed to address solid tumors in both ophthalmic and non‐ophthalmic settings, leveraging precision activation via near‐infrared light to induce localized tumor cell apoptosis and stimulate anti‐tumor immune responses.

The lead product candidate, AU-011, is being evaluated in patients with choroidal melanoma, a rare but potentially sight-threatening eye cancer.

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