Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $9.54 and last traded at $8.90, with a volume of 5880551 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $8.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AURA. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Aura Biosciences from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aura Biosciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a report on Friday, March 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aura Biosciences has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.50.

Aura Biosciences Stock Up 0.7%

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $6.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.05. The stock has a market cap of $530.36 million, a P/E ratio of -4.63 and a beta of 0.37.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 30th. The company reported ($0.37) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.43) by $0.06. On average, research analysts forecast that Aura Biosciences, Inc. will post -1.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aura Biosciences

In related news, CTO Mark Plavsic sold 15,890 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.05, for a total value of $80,244.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 181,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $916,054.85. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Janet Jill Hopkins sold 20,401 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 232,284 shares in the company, valued at $1,175,357.04. The trade was a 8.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 116,305 shares of company stock worth $611,230. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aura Biosciences

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences during the first quarter valued at approximately $137,000. Invesco Ltd. purchased a new stake in Aura Biosciences in the second quarter worth $76,000. Nantahala Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Aura Biosciences by 67.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aura Biosciences by 31.1% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 84,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $529,000 after purchasing an additional 20,065 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences in the second quarter worth about $102,000. Institutional investors own 96.75% of the company’s stock.

About Aura Biosciences

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.