Short Interest in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) Decreases By 15.7%

Key Points

• Short interest in Aurinia fell by 15.7% in April to 9,112,230 shares (about 7.8% of shares sold short), with a days-to-cover ratio of 8.4.
• Director Kevin Tang purchased 516,439 shares at an average price of $13.99 on Feb. 27, raising his stake to 11,845,939 shares and contributing to insiders owning 12.20% of the company.
• Aurinia reported a notable earnings beat with quarterly EPS of $1.53 versus $0.21 expected and revenue of $77.11M, while the stock sits at a roughly $2.0B market cap and a P/E of 7.39.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH - Get Free Report) TSE: AUP was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 9,112,230 shares, a decline of 15.7% from the March 31st total of 10,809,496 shares. Currently, 7.8% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,079,907 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $17.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Kevin Tang purchased 516,439 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.99 per share, with a total value of $7,224,981.61. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,845,939 shares in the company, valued at $165,724,686.61. The trade was a 4.56% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 12.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cvfg LLC purchased a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $1,000,000. Kathmere Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $167,000. PFG Investments LLC increased its stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% during the first quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 44,890 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $665,000 after purchasing an additional 10,450 shares during the period. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $901,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $1,059,000. 36.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.1%

AUPH traded down $0.01 on Friday, hitting $15.38. The company had a trading volume of 489,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,064,127. The firm has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.39 and a beta of 1.51. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $7.28 and a 1 year high of $16.88. The company's fifty day moving average price is $15.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.82. The company has a current ratio of 5.25, a quick ratio of 4.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH - Get Free Report) TSE: AUP last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $1.32. The firm had revenue of $77.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.70 million. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 101.46% and a return on equity of 27.47%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for autoimmune diseases. The company's proprietary molecule, voclosporin, is designed to selectively inhibit calcineurin and reduce inflammation associated with autoimmune responses. Aurinia operates research and development facilities in Canada and the United States, leveraging collaborations with academic institutions and contract research organizations to advance its clinical pipeline.

The company's lead product, voclosporin (marketed as LUPKYNIS), received approval from the U.S.

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