Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) Shares Up 8.2% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) shot up 8.2% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $7.11 and last traded at $7.2810. 53,833 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 413,304 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.73.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AURA shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aura Biosciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Aura Biosciences from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Monday. Leerink Partners set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of Aura Biosciences from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Aura Biosciences has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.50.

Aura Biosciences Trading Up 7.8%

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.37. The stock has a market cap of $750.20 million, a P/E ratio of -4.18 and a beta of 0.40.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.50) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by ($0.10). Equities analysts anticipate that Aura Biosciences, Inc. will post -1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aura Biosciences news, insider Conor Kilroy sold 11,738 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.02, for a total value of $82,400.76. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 217,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,529,201.70. This trade represents a 5.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Anthony S. Gibney sold 12,824 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.42, for a total transaction of $82,330.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 265,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,703,572.68. The trade was a 4.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 6,947,432 shares of company stock valued at $39,209,718 over the last quarter. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aura Biosciences

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AURA. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Aura Biosciences during the first quarter valued at approximately $137,000. Invesco Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Aura Biosciences in the 2nd quarter valued at $76,000. Nantahala Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Aura Biosciences by 67.1% in the 2nd quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 2,117,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,257,000 after purchasing an additional 850,000 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Aura Biosciences by 31.1% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences during the 2nd quarter worth $102,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.