Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) Trading Up 9.1% on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPHGet Free Report) (TSE:AUP) traded up 9.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Bloom Burton upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The company traded as high as $17.80 and last traded at $17.6420. Approximately 421,079 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 1,241,123 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.17.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on AUPH. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen cut Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.67.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on AUPH

Insider Buying and Selling at Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

In other Aurinia Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Kevin Tang acquired 343,620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.28 per share, for a total transaction of $5,250,513.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,838,101 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,166,183.28. This trade represents a 2.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last quarter, insiders bought 814,606 shares of company stock worth $12,455,129. Insiders own 10.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AUPH. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $35,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $56,000. Institutional investors own 36.83% of the company’s stock.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.43. The stock has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.27 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 4.97 and a current ratio of 5.42.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPHGet Free Report) (TSE:AUP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.04. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 26.11% and a net margin of 100.84%.The company had revenue of $58.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.45 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

About Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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