Brokerages Set Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) PT at $20.50

Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.50.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AURA shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a report on Monday, December 29th. Evercore initiated coverage on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock.

Aura Biosciences Stock Performance

Shares of AURA stock opened at $6.15 on Monday. Aura Biosciences has a fifty-two week low of $4.34 and a fifty-two week high of $7.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $390.53 million, a PE ratio of -3.17 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.89.

Insider Activity at Aura Biosciences

In other news, insider Janet Jill Hopkins sold 20,401 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.06, for a total value of $103,229.06. Following the sale, the insider owned 232,284 shares in the company, valued at $1,175,357.04. This represents a 8.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Amy Elazzouzi sold 8,549 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.06, for a total value of $43,257.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 75,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $382,191.92. The trade was a 10.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 123,076 shares of company stock worth $618,783 in the last three months. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of Aura Biosciences by 49.3% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,104 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Water Island Capital LLC acquired a new position in Aura Biosciences in the 3rd quarter worth about $64,000. 49 Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Aura Biosciences during the third quarter worth approximately $66,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. acquired a new stake in Aura Biosciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.75% of the company’s stock.

Aura Biosciences Company Profile

Aura Biosciences is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel virus‐like particle (VLP) therapies for the treatment of cancer. By combining proprietary VLP technology with photoactivatable dyes, Aura aims to deliver highly selective photodynamic therapies that target and destroy tumor cells while sparing healthy tissue. The company’s platform is designed to address solid tumors in both ophthalmic and non‐ophthalmic settings, leveraging precision activation via near‐infrared light to induce localized tumor cell apoptosis and stimulate anti‐tumor immune responses.

The lead product candidate, AU-011, is being evaluated in patients with choroidal melanoma, a rare but potentially sight-threatening eye cancer.