Freestone Grove Partners LP Makes New $979,000 Investment in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc $AUPH

Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 57,717 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $979,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.83% of the company’s stock.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.2%

NASDAQ:AUPH opened at $16.29 on Friday. 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 Inc has a one year low of $10.34 and a one year high of $19.25. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.49. The stock has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.11 and a beta of 1.42.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bloom Burton upgraded shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.67.

Insider Activity

In other Aurinia Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Kevin Tang bought 343,620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $15.28 per share, with a total value of $5,250,513.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,838,101 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,166,183.28. This trade represents a 2.75% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 10.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.