Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor Makes New Investment in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc $AUPH

Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor bought a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 92,212 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,565,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cvfg LLC bought a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,000,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,663,835 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $24,658,000 after purchasing an additional 73,700 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% in the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 314,426 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,660,000 after purchasing an additional 55,610 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp acquired a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth $1,340,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $1,970,000. 36.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AUPH. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.67.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ AUPH opened at $15.29 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 4.97 and a current ratio of 5.42. The stock has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.68 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.39. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc has a 52-week low of $10.34 and a 52-week high of $19.25.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $58.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.45 million. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 100.84% and a return on equity of 26.11%. Analysts anticipate that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Kevin Tang acquired 206,005 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $15.28 per share, with a total value of $3,147,756.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 13,044,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,313,939.68. The trade was a 1.60% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have acquired 814,606 shares of company stock worth $12,455,129 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 10.40% of the company’s stock.

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.