Royal Bank Of Canada Raises Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) Price Target to $9.00

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target for Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from $8.00 to $9.00, maintaining an "outperform" rating on the stock.
• HC Wainwright also reaffirmed a "buy" rating for Aurinia Pharmaceuticals with a higher price target of $17.00.
• Aurinia Pharmaceuticals reported a quarterly earnings miss of $0.16 per share, slightly below analysts' expectations, but exceeded revenue estimates with $70.01 million for the quarter.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH - Free Report) TSE: AUP had its target price increased by Royal Bank Of Canada from $8.00 to $9.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the biotechnology company's stock.

Separately, HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, July 30th.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.25 during trading on Friday, hitting $11.70. 3,144,408 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,573,970. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $8.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.18. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $5.20 and a 1-year high of $11.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.21 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 5.23 and a quick ratio of 4.63.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH - Get Free Report) TSE: AUP last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The biotechnology company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.01). Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 20.06% and a net margin of 23.31%. The firm had revenue of $70.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.27 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals will post 0.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Kevin Tang purchased 200,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $11.68 per share, for a total transaction of $2,336,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 11,329,500 shares in the company, valued at $132,328,560. The trade was a 1.80% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 1,300,000 shares of company stock valued at $13,590,000. Corporate insiders own 12.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AUPH. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in 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 acquired a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 56.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,852 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management acquired a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.83% of the company's stock.

About Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

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.