Kevin Tang Acquires 343,620 Shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) Stock

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) CEO Kevin Tang purchased 343,620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.28 per share, for a total transaction of $5,250,513.60. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,838,101 shares in the company, valued at $196,166,183.28. The trade was 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 hyperlink.

Kevin Tang also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, June 2nd, Kevin Tang purchased 206,005 shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.28 per share, for a total transaction of $3,147,756.40.
• On Friday, May 29th, Kevin Tang acquired 264,981 shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of $15.31 per share, with a total value of $4,056,859.11.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.8%

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $15.67 on Thursday. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc has a twelve month low of $7.28 and a twelve month high of $16.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $15.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.25. The company has a current ratio of 5.55, a quick ratio of 5.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.22 and a beta of 1.41.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.07. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 26.62% and a net margin of 99.97%.The company had revenue of $77.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $76.98 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings cut Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.25.

Institutional Trading of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 533,290 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,893,000 after buying an additional 94,941 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $729,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 206.2% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 258,816 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,128,000 after buying an additional 174,301 shares during the period. Navellier & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $926,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 136,224 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,173,000 after purchasing an additional 55,903 shares during the last quarter. 36.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.