Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

AURA has been the topic of several other reports. Leerink Partners set a $17.00 target price on Aura Biosciences in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Aura Biosciences from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aura Biosciences has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.50.

Aura Biosciences Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of AURA opened at $7.99 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.66. The firm has a market cap of $826.49 million, a PE ratio of -4.59 and a beta of 0.40. Aura Biosciences has a 1-year low of $4.73 and a 1-year high of $9.53.

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

Insider Activity at Aura Biosciences

In related news, insider Anthony S. Gibney sold 12,824 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.42, for a total value of $82,330.08. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 265,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,703,572.68. This trade represents a 4.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aura Biosciences

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Aura Biosciences by 130.4% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 3,206 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Aura Biosciences by 49.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,104 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Aura Biosciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Water Island Capital LLC purchased a new position in Aura Biosciences during the third quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. purchased a new position in Aura Biosciences during the second quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Institutional investors 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.