Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Bloom Burton

Bloom Burton upgraded shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on AUPH. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.67.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 6.8%

Shares of NASDAQ AUPH opened at $17.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 4.97 and a current ratio of 5.42. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $10.34 and a 1 year high of $19.25. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.42. The firm has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.54 and a beta of 1.42.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.04. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 26.11% and a net margin of 100.84%.The company had revenue of $58.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.45 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kevin Tang bought 206,005 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $15.28 per share, for a total transaction of $3,147,756.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 13,044,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $199,313,939.68. This represents a 1.60% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders acquired 814,606 shares of company stock valued at $12,455,129 over the last quarter. 10.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $41,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at $45,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 411.9% during the 1st quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,471 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 2,793 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 36.83% 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.