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

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $17.6667.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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. Bloom Burton upgraded Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on 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 lowered shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of AUPH opened at $16.08 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $15.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.57. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $10.34 and a twelve month high of $19.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of 7.02 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 5.42, a quick ratio of 4.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $139,037,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,387,194 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $54,026,000 after acquiring an additional 13,173 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 2,033.2% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 2,264,799 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $38,434,000 after acquiring an additional 2,158,630 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,663,835 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $24,658,000 after purchasing an additional 73,700 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,574,957 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,121,000 after purchasing an additional 91,825 shares in the last quarter. 36.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.