Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the six research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $17.25.

Several research firms recently issued reports on AUPH. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $10.00 to $21.00 in a report on Friday, November 7th. Bloom Burton downgraded Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Leerink Partners cut Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $15.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $15.00 target price (up previously from $9.00) on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th.

Institutional Trading of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AUPH. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 70.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. now owns 357,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,024,000 after buying an additional 147,000 shares during the period. Marex Group plc acquired a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,143,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $282,000. Acropolis Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $242,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 74.0% during the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 547,802 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,640,000 after acquiring an additional 233,017 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.83% of the company’s stock.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $14.53 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.92 billion, a PE ratio of 25.95 and a beta of 1.46. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $6.55 and a twelve month high of $16.54. The company has a quick ratio of 5.17, a current ratio of 5.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $15.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.11.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.07. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 25.19% and a net margin of 29.28%.The company had revenue of $73.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.70 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals will post 0.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.