Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $17.25.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings lowered Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of AUPH stock opened at $15.96 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.01, a current ratio of 5.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $8.55 and a fifty-two week high of $19.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $16.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.37. The stock has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.35 and a beta of 1.41.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) last released 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 net margin of 99.97% and a return on equity of 26.62%. The company had revenue of $77.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.98 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals will post 0.82 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Kevin Tang bought 206,005 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $15.28 per share, with a total value of $3,147,756.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 13,044,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,313,939.68. This represents a 1.60% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders bought a total of 814,606 shares of company stock valued at $12,455,129 over the last ninety days. 12.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 533,290 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,893,000 after acquiring an additional 94,941 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $729,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 206.2% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 258,816 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,128,000 after acquiring an additional 174,301 shares in the last quarter. Cvfg LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth about $1,000,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $1,970,000. 36.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.