Kevin Tang Acquires 264,981 Shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) Stock

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) CEO Kevin Tang purchased 264,981 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $15.31 per share, with a total value of $4,056,859.11. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,494,481 shares in the company, valued at $191,290,504.11. The trade was a 2.17% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

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

• On Tuesday, June 2nd, Kevin Tang purchased 206,005 shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $15.28 per share, with a total value of $3,147,756.40.
• On Monday, June 1st, Kevin Tang purchased 343,620 shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $15.28 per share, with a total value of $5,250,513.60.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of AUPH opened at $15.67 on Thursday. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc has a 52 week low of $7.28 and a 52 week high of $16.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.22 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 5.01 and a current ratio of 5.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $15.56 and a 200-day moving average of $15.25.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 411.9% in the 1st quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,471 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 2,793 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $48,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $82,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,407 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 1,318 shares in the last quarter. 36.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.