Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) Shares Gap Up to $5.20

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUPH - Get Free Report) TSE: AUP shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $5.20, but opened at $5.68. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $5.43, with a volume of 450,481 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AUPH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from $9.50 to $9.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from $13.00 to $8.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $10.00.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $5.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.14. The company has a quick ratio of 4.99, a current ratio of 5.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market capitalization of $739.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.93 and a beta of 1.36.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH - Get Free Report) TSE: AUP last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $45.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.00 million. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 20.10% and a negative net margin of 44.45%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 58.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.18) EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post -0.06 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 95.9% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,673 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,798 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $92,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.83% of the company's stock.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Company 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.