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

Shares of Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.50.

AURA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Aura Biosciences in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research note on Monday, December 29th.

Aura Biosciences Price Performance

AURA stock traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $5.02. 157,647 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 178,931. Aura Biosciences has a twelve month low of $4.34 and a twelve month high of $8.27. The company has a 50-day moving average of $5.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.15. The company has a market capitalization of $318.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.59 and a beta of 0.46.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported ($0.40) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.46) by $0.06. On average, analysts forecast that Aura Biosciences will post -1.66 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aura Biosciences news, insider Janet Jill Hopkins sold 17,109 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.42, for a total value of $92,730.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 252,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,369,552.70. This represents a 6.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Los Pinos Elisabet De sold 9,049 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.35, for a total value of $57,461.15. Following the transaction, the insider owned 474,391 shares in the company, valued at $3,012,382.85. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 27,054 shares of company stock valued at $155,882. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aura Biosciences

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AURA. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Aura Biosciences in the second quarter worth about $31,926,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Aura Biosciences by 16.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,890,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,863,000 after purchasing an additional 413,001 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Aura Biosciences by 5.9% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,340,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,653,000 after purchasing an additional 130,221 shares during the period. Nantahala Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Aura Biosciences by 67.1% in the second quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 2,117,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,257,000 after purchasing an additional 850,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Levin Capital Strategies L.P. raised its position in shares of Aura Biosciences by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 1,627,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,057,000 after purchasing an additional 131,714 shares during the period. 96.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.