Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) Trading 8.2% Higher – Here’s Why

Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) was up 8.2% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $7.11 and last traded at $7.2810. Approximately 53,833 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 413,304 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.73.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AURA shares. Leerink Partners set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Aura Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Aura Biosciences from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aura Biosciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of Aura Biosciences from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.50.

Aura Biosciences Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $800.24 million, a P/E ratio of -4.45 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.39.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.50) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by ($0.10). Analysts anticipate that Aura Biosciences, Inc. will post -1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Matrix Capital Management Comp sold 6,922,870 shares of Aura Biosciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.64, for a total value of $39,044,986.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Conor Kilroy sold 11,738 shares of Aura Biosciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.02, for a total value of $82,400.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 217,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,529,201.70. This trade represents a 5.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 6,947,432 shares of company stock valued at $39,209,718 over the last ninety days. 6.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aura Biosciences

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AURA. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Aura Biosciences by 130.4% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 3,206 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Aura Biosciences by 49.3% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,104 shares during the period. Water Island Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aura Biosciences in the 3rd quarter worth about $64,000. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aura Biosciences in the 4th quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Aura Biosciences in the 2nd quarter worth about $76,000. 96.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aura Biosciences Company Profile

Aura Biosciences is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel virus‐like particle (VLP) therapies for the treatment of cancer. By combining proprietary VLP technology with photoactivatable dyes, Aura aims to deliver highly selective photodynamic therapies that target and destroy tumor cells while sparing healthy tissue. The company’s platform is designed to address solid tumors in both ophthalmic and non‐ophthalmic settings, leveraging precision activation via near‐infrared light to induce localized tumor cell apoptosis and stimulate anti‐tumor immune responses.

The lead product candidate, AU-011, is being evaluated in patients with choroidal melanoma, a rare but potentially sight-threatening eye cancer.