Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $17.25.

Separately, Weiss Ratings cut Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th.

Insider Activity at Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Kevin Tang bought 206,005 shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.28 per share, with a total value of $3,147,756.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 13,044,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,313,939.68. This trade represents a 1.60% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders acquired 814,606 shares of company stock worth $12,455,129 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 12.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $48,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 411.9% during the first quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,471 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 2,793 shares during the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 1,008.1% during the first quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 6,815 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 6,200 shares during the last quarter. 36.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of AUPH stock opened at $16.48 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.28. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $7.28 and a fifty-two week high of $16.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.59 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 5.01, a current ratio of 5.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.07. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 26.62% and a net margin of 99.97%.The business had revenue of $77.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $76.98 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.