SG Americas Securities LLC Boosts Position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc $AUPH

SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) by 32.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 180,960 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 44,736 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals worth $2,682,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $48,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $82,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,407 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 32.4% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 13,034 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 3,191 shares during the period. 36.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kevin Tang purchased 206,005 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.28 per share, for a total transaction of $3,147,756.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 13,044,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,313,939.68. This trade represents a 1.60% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders purchased 814,606 shares of company stock valued at $12,455,129 over the last quarter. Insiders own 12.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.1%

AUPH stock opened at $16.97 on Wednesday. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc has a 52 week low of $7.28 and a 52 week high of $19.25. The company has a quick ratio of 5.01, a current ratio of 5.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.82 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $77.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $76.98 million. Equities analysts forecast that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

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.