Brokerages Set Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) Price Target at $17.67

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $17.6667.

Several brokerages have weighed in on AUPH. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ AUPH opened at $15.37 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.37. The company has a current ratio of 5.42, a quick ratio of 4.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $10.34 and a 12-month high of $19.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.71 and a beta of 1.42.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.04. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 26.11% and a net margin of 100.84%.The firm had revenue of $58.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.45 million. Analysts forecast that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals will post 0.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kevin Tang acquired 343,620 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.28 per share, for a total transaction of $5,250,513.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 12,838,101 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,166,183.28. This represents a 2.75% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have acquired a total of 814,606 shares of company stock valued at $12,455,129 over the last three months. Company insiders own 10.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AUPH. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $139,037,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,387,194 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $54,026,000 after acquiring an additional 13,173 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,663,835 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $24,658,000 after acquiring an additional 73,700 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,574,957 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,121,000 after acquiring an additional 91,825 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,507,869 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $24,047,000 after purchasing an additional 22,169 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.83% of the company’s stock.

About Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

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.