IFP Advisors Inc Raises Stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc $AUPH

IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) by 10.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 361,634 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 33,843 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc owned 0.27% of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals worth $6,137,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cvfg LLC acquired a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at $1,000,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% during the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 314,426 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,660,000 after purchasing an additional 55,610 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% during 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. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp purchased a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,340,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,564,000. 36.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AUPH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research cut Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Bloom Burton raised Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target 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, Wall Street Zen lowered Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.67.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:AUPH opened at $16.25 on Thursday. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc has a 52 week low of $10.34 and a 52 week high of $19.25. The company has a quick ratio of 4.97, a current ratio of 5.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a PE ratio of 7.10 and a beta of 1.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $15.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.60.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $58.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.45 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc will post 0.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.