GSA Capital Partners LLP Buys 120,484 Shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc $AUPH

GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) by 1,051.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 131,948 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 120,484 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP owned approximately 0.10% of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals worth $2,105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 533,290 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,893,000 after purchasing an additional 94,941 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $729,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $934,000. Navellier & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $926,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 136,224 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,173,000 after acquiring an additional 55,903 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 36.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kevin Tang purchased 516,439 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.99 per share, for a total transaction of $7,224,981.61. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 11,845,939 shares in the company, valued at $165,724,686.61. This trade represents a 4.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 12.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.3%

AUPH opened at $15.55 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 5.01 and a current ratio of 5.55. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc has a fifty-two week low of $7.28 and a fifty-two week high of $16.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $15.33 and its 200 day moving average is $15.17. The stock has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.17 and a beta of 1.44.

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

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals 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.